White Peaches
by Tsuki no Rin
Summary: A realtively short multichapter story on the pairing of Hitsugaya Toushirou and Hinamori Momo. Romance, Drama, and Slight Humor genres with a general warning of T, just to be safe. No flamers, please.
1. Chapter 1

**White Peaches**

**Chapter 1**

**- -**

'_Hinamori...'_

Toushirou Hitsugaya, captain of the 10th Division, stared blankly at the white expanse of wall that separated the lobby from one of the many patients' rooms in the Fourth Division's Medicinal Care Unit. Unblinking eyes slowly trailed up from the crack near the molding, to the small blood smudge in the center of the wall, and finally up to the off-white ceiling, not even able to take in the familiar sight in front of him as thoughts raced through his skilled mind.

Fourteen months. It had been fourteen months since Momo Hinamori-fukutaicho, Lieutenant of the 5th Division of the Gotei 13, had been stabbed in the chest by her former captain, Sousuke Aizen, and fallen into a coma.

Two months. It had been two months since Ichigo Kurosaki, Yoruichi Shihouin, Kisuke Urahara, Orihime Inoue, Yasutoro Sado, and Uryuu Ishida decided to take action without Soul Society knowing and killed Sousuke Aizen along with his accomplices Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tousen, former captains of the 3rd and 9th Divisions.

Despite the fact that all threat was gone and peace had been restored to Soul Society, Hinamori-fukutaicho was unable to awake from her fitful, torturous dreams. Retsu Unohana, captain of the 4th Division, had informed Hitsugaya that Hinamori was not capable of arising from her current state due to the fact that the emotional trauma she had endured, because of the betrayal of her adored and admired captain, had forced her mind into submission and hiding. Basically, Hinamori was there physically, alive and kicking, but emotionally and mentally she was horribly scarred and may never wake up from the nightmares that haunted her brain and burned images into the back of her never-opening eyelids.

Hitsugaya had spent an agonizing fourteen months by his childhood friend's bedside, waiting and praying for her eyes to flutter open.

Hitsugaya had spent a torturous three months, out of that seven, awaiting news about Ichigo and co. and their progress with their pursuit of Aizen.

But worst of all, Hitsugaya had spent two heartbreaking weeks, the shortest amount of time out of those three, pacing back and forth through the Care Unit's lobby awaiting news of Hinamori's current condition; which had taken a horrible turn for the worst.

"Taicho," Matusmoto began hesitantly; not wanting to force him out of his thoughts, but thoroughly irritated by the black and white blur constantly moving in and out the corner of her vision, "Hinamori-chan will be perfectly fine. You know she will. She's a strong young woman and-"

Turning an icy gaze towards his Lieutenant, Hitsugaya interrupted her encouraging speech before his headache got any worse. "Shut up Matsumoto."

"What?! I'm just trying to cheer _you_ up!"

At the lack of response, Matsumoto settled for muttering a quick "stubborn brat" before stomping out of the building while Hitsugaya turned on his heel behind the slammed door in an attempt to continue his previous thoughtful pacing.

Before he could re-submerge himself in thoughts, however, a soft voice called out to him from the hallway to his right.

"Hitsugaya-taicho." Quickly snapping his attention to Unohana, Hitsugaya gave her a look that signaled for her to continue. "Hinamori's condition is still rocky, but we've managed to get it stable again for the night. Tomorrow will be another long battle, so please go get some rest."

"Is there-"

Gently putting up a hand to stop any protests, Unohana shook her head solemnly. "There is nothing neither you nor I can do at this moment but rest for tomorrow and prepare ourselves for the long day ahead of us."

After a few moments, Hitsugaya reluctantly turned away, his captain cloak swishing behind him softly as his hastened steps carried him out the building. Stepping out of the door, he took a deep, shaky breath of the fresh air around him and closed his eyes.

"What you need, taicho, is some sake. Allow us to pour some for you!"

Although severely startled, the white-haired prodigy calmly looked towards the three lieutenants standing a little ways away from the doorway. He hadn't sensed their reiatsu—perhaps he really did need some rest.

Coolly flicking his gaze over the sake bottles Matsumoto, Renji, and Kira held in their arms, Hitsugaya grunted at them before continuing down the path towards the 10th Division.

"Taicho…!" Matsumoto whined from behind him, her feet hurrying to catch up with his quick strides, "You're too stressed! Just a few drinks with us! No one knows you're just a little underage!"

A small twitch of his eyebrow was the only indication that he had heard anything as he hastened his steps, trying to escape the annoying pressuring of his underling.

"Yeah, Hitsugaya-taicho, you really do look tired. Nothing perks a person up like sake! We won't party too hard, we promise." Renji sauntered up beside Matsumoto and clinked the two sake bottles he was holding together. "Right Kira?"

"Uh…! Yes!" Fidgeting uncomfortably, Kira finally caught up with his two friends after much struggling with the four sake bottles and four cups he held in his hands. "But…do we really need this much?"

"Of course we do!" Matsumoto scolded the younger lieutenant but quickly returned her attention to her superior. "Please, taicho!"

Very stressed and exhausted, Hitsugaya stopped abruptly—causing Renji and Matusmoto to suddenly stop—and soon afterwards heard the crashing and breaking of sake bottles as Kira failed to stop in time.

Rubbing his head gently, Kira coughed through the heady scent of alcohol. "Ouch…"

"My sake!" Kicking Kira in his head, Matsumoto crouched down and gingerly picked up the two un-shattered bottles remaining.

"Matusmoto!" With a quick 'eep', Matusmoto dropped the bottle she had previously rescued. "Don't you have paperwork to do in the office?"

"Um…"

"Not only that," Hitsugaya continued on heatedly, "but you have your own individual report that is due to Yamamoto-dono tomorrow morning…"

"But-"

"…_and_…do I _really_ look desperate enough to resort to drinking with you three?" Hitsugaya sneered coldly; his patience having reached the breaking point.

The three lieutenants shared glances before nodding sharply and replying with a quiet, "yes, you actually do, taicho", earning another glare and a whip along the shins from the violent twist of the Tenth Division Captain's cloak.

Once his white head disappeared behind the door of the Tenth division, Matsumoto snorted indignantly and turned to help Kira.

"It's a shame that he would rather resort to appearing to have a stick up his ass than drink with us."

With a loud thump and a horrified shriek, Matsumoto dislodged the sandal from her head and glanced over her shoulder in surprise. "Taicho! They almost fell out again!" Gesturing towards her large bust, Matsumoto pouted at the fuming captain's retreating figure.

**- -**

Hitsugaya sighed lightly when he finally reached his office. Slumping into the large, plushy, red chair and resting his elbows on the mahogany desk in front of him, he rubbed large, slow circles into his temples.

Very gently, and barely noticable, Hitsugaya sneezed. Damn that woman and her sake! The stench was buried deep within his clothes and it was making his headache worse.

After making sure that no one was around, he allowed his head to drop to the surface of the desk with a soft thud, flinching at the pain from the impact. A shuddering sigh escaped his lips as he closed his eyes; intent to clear his thoughts and relax his body.

"Shirou-chan…"

Hitsugaya whipped his head up, quickly grasping the back of his neck from the pain, and looked about the room as frantically as a trained captain could allow for his public appearance.

Hesitantly rising from his chair, Hitsugaya lowered his hand from his neck in favor of clenching the fabric of his hakama. "Hina…mori?"

He paused, perfectly still, trying to hear even the slightest sound.

Was someone trying to play games with his mind? Or was it really her? But it couldn't be her; she was in critical condition in the Intensive Care portion of the Medicinal Care Unit.

"Shirou-chan…"

This time it was much more clear, and the voice seemed to be coming from behind him. However, when he turned, there was noone there.

With cautious and ever so slightly trembling steps, he walked into the center of the room, concentrating his reiatsu and trying to find her own reiatsu. "Hinamori?" He repeated carefully, eyebrows knitted in concentration.

"Shirou-chan."

Whipping around and facing the door, Hitsugaya's eyes widened considerably before shrinking to a less noticeable, but still larger than normal, size.

"Hinamori…"

She stood there, hair thin and oily, skin pale and opaque-looking, eyes too large for her small face, and her yukata falling off of her sickly form; nevertheless, he was incredibly relieved and happy to see her.

"Hinamori…what are you doing here? When did you-?" He stopped abruptly as tears began to brim at the corners of her eyes, threatening to spill. "Hinamori?"

And spill they did.

Fat droplets cascaded down her cheeks, leaving streaks of shimmering moisture in their wake. "Shirou-chan!" She covered her face in her hands and collapsed to her knees, her shoulders shuddering from the force of her sudden sobs.

"Hinamori! What's wrong?" Frozen mask of composure long forgotten, Hitsugaya flung himself to his knees and crawled to the sobbing girl's side. Concern laced his voice and swirled in the depths of his emerald orbs as he hesitantly raised a hand to her shoulder. "Hinamori, speak to me! Tell me what's-!"

The harsh clapping sound, created by Hinamori's hand against Hitsugaya's cheek, resounded through the room as wide green eyes stared at the tatami mats in shock. "Hina…Hinamo…Hinamori…?" He dragged his eyes up to her and raised a hand to his stinging cheek. She sneered down at him distastefully, her arm still raised from the strike she had given him.

"I hate you!"

He flinched openly at the harsh, biting words and dug his fingernails into the floor below him. "Hinamori…?" He couldn't usher any other name, any other word, any other sound.

Did she still believe that he was Aizen's killer? Did Aizen use an illusion on her, while she was in her coma, and brainwash her into hating him? Was he, himself, really that horrible for not being able to protect her? Was that why she was mad? Or was it something else? What could he have done?

"I fucking hate you!"

She swore. Hinamori _swore_. She **never** cursed, no matter how horrible something or someone was.

This couldn't be her…

…could it?

"Hina…Hina…?"

Before he could stutter out her name, she got up and ran out the doors, crystal tears flying in her wake.

"Hina…" Shock grasped Hitsugaya's lungs in a vice-grip, preventing all air from entering them for a few moments before he shakily got to his feet. "Hina…Hinamori... Hinamori… Hinamori!"

With a few unsteady steps he stumbled towards the door; the numbness of shock still posessing him. What was this feeling deep within his chest and being? Why could he barely speak, barely think, barely move, barely _breathe_?

Hitsugaya leaned heavily against the framing of the door when he finally reached it, still murmering her name as though it were a magical chant. Moving was so difficult, so exhausting, but he had to. He had to reach her. He had to talk to her. He just _had_ to.

And then it happened.

He pushed himself out the door and spun towards the sound of her retreating footsteps, but she wasn't retreating. In fact, she wasn't even there. Suddenly her angry reiatsu crashed into him from behind, leaving him breathless as he spun the other way to meet her furious, heated gaze; tears still pouring silently down her cheeks.

"Hinamori…"

She held Tobiume, her zanpakuto, in her hands and raised it high above her head. He didn't have time to think to dodge. He couldn't have dodged if he tried. He couldn't have even tried.

"I _hate_ you, little Shirou-_chan_." She whispered tauntingly as a smirk tilted the side of her lips in a horrifying manner that seemed so unnatural when placed upon her normally kind face.

"Hina…" He felt the cold steel of her sword cut deep within his chest, almost just as Aizen had done over a year ago. He didn't widen his eyes and he didn't twitch a finger.

The only sound that was whispered into the night, was the end of her name; sounding like a desperate plea as it dropped off his lips as slowly as he descended towards the wood in front of him. "...mori…"

**- -**

**A/N**: How did you like the first chapter? This story will (hopefully) be updated once a week. –crosses fingers- Please read & review!


	2. Chapter 2

**White Peaches**

**Chapter 2**

**- -**

_Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep…_

It was a steady, almost peaceful, rhythm that soothed the aching muscles in her body as she stared at the blank white ceiling above her, unable to turn her head due to a lack of energy and interest.

_Drip, Drip, Drip…_

Besides these repetitive and constant sounds, the entire room was filled with silence and not a single being ushered a breath. But then again, maybe there were simply no beings around.

_Knock, Knock._

Oh? This was new. An unusual break to the pattern she had grown used to over the past few hours. Or was it days? Weeks perhaps?

"Hinamori-fukutaicho, I've brought your dinner." Hanataro, 7th seat member of the Fourth Division, called out cheerfully as he slid open the room door and stopped abruptly at the sight before him.

_Smash._

Now _that_ was both annoying and painful.

"Hinamori-fukutaicho!"

And so was that.

"Unohana-taicho! Unohana-taicho!" Rushing away from the room and the mess of spilled syrups and smoothies, shattered plates and forgotten medication, Hanataro called frantically for his commander.

Hinamori remained in her stationary position, her eyebrows slightly furrowed in a mixture of confusion and an attempt to relieve the pounding headache that ignited within her skull.

She would have said "ouch" if she could—really, she would. Unfortunately, her throat seemed to be drier than the hottest day of the year and strained beyond comprehensible belief.

"Hinamori-fukutaicho…" Hinamori blinked at the soft, relieved tone of the Fourth Division's captain. "How are you feeling?"

As obedient as always, Hinamori opened her mouth in an attempt to answer her superior's questioning and in the process succeeded in completely forgetting the current condition of her throat and vocal cords.

"Oh! I'm sorry Hinamori-san, please excuse my mistake." Bowing politely, Unohana silently walked up to the girl's bedside table and picked up an untouched glass of water. Placing one hand at the back of Hinamori's head, and bringing the glass up to her lips with the other, Unohana poured the liquid into her mouth in small, even amounts. "Is that better?"

Hinamori nodded before rasping out a strangled "yes" in response and closing her eyes in bliss at the sensation of the cool liquid sliding down her throat and soothing her parched flesh.

Sitting down next to the lieutenant, Unohana returned the glass to its original position. "When did you wake up?"

"I-…I'm not sure." She winced slightly at the sound of her own voice, much lower and rougher than she had remembered it being.

"That's understandable. I severely doubt that you realize this, but you've been in a coma for a little over fourteen months. Although it is absolutely wonderful that you are awake, and you should be resting, I'd like to do some tests. Do you think you have the energy to go through with them immediately?"

"Ye-" Suddenly, Hinamori erupted into a bought of dry, rasping coughs that shook her entire frame and squeezed her lungs painfully. Before she could comprehend the movement, however, Unohana had the glass back to her lips and her throat was once again moisturized. "Thank you." The polite acknowledgment of the woman's quick action was muffled as she guzzled down the water greedily. "Yes, I can undergo the tests now."

"Wonderful." Taking the now-empty cup from Hinamori's mouth, Unohana rose carefully and made her way to the door. "I'll return shortly."

Sighing, Hinamori closed her eyes and recollected her thoughts. Unohana-taicho had said she had been in a coma…that meant that she was in the Medicinal Care Unit. But how did she-?

Her eyes flew open as memories flooded into her mind.

Aizen's murder. Ichimaru. Fighting with Kira.

Had Kira injured her?

No. No, that wasn't right; there was more.

The note Matusmoto delivered to her. Hitsugaya, and…pointing Tobiume at Hitsugaya…

Had she fought with Hitsugaya, then?

No. Damnit. Something was telling her that she wasn't thinking deep enough, remembering deep enough. Think, Hinamori…think!

Various images and video-like replays floated past Hinamori's closed eyelids as she called upon her thoughts and memories. Murmuring slightly under her breath, Hinamori knitted her eyebrows in concentration and curled her stiff fingers into the sheets.

Her eyes flew open again and she sat up violently, ignoring the protests her body made at the sudden and unfamiliar movement as realization finally dawned on her. Her entire body shuddered and shook with the strain of her muscles as she sat there, eyes wide, mouth open, and tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Ai…Aizen…Aizen-taicho…"

And that was how Unohana found her; sitting up in bed, whimpering her former captain's name as she rasped out horrible, struggling sobs.

**- -**

Matsumoto sighed depressively.

She couldn't believe what had happened.

Slowly, she rose out of the stiff chair she was seated in, and made her way to the sink and mirror on the far wall of the Care Unit patient room. She grimaced at the reflection that greeted her.

"Good Lord, Rangiku," she muttered to herself as she clasped her chin in one hand and prodded her face with the other, "you look dead to the world. What would you do if Gin saw you?" She smiled sadly at her own little joke. She missed the bastard.

That was besides the point, though.

She resumed her previous prodding as she examined her tired face. She had some fading, but nonetheless _there_, imprinted lines from sleeping on the paperwork she had been doing previously and her eyes had large, dark bags underneath them; drawing away from the sky blue colouring of the attractive orbs.

Carefully looking about herself, Matsumoto grinned and returned to the mirror, poking and prodding at her bounty of a chest. She was not known for modesty, but really now; she was in the Medicinal Care Unit!

"No matter how bad this gets," she gestured to her face in the mirror, "I'll be damned if these ever fail me." Grinning like a chesire cat as she gave her prized 'twins' a final squeeze, Matusmoto returned to her previous seat and returned to her thoughtful, albeit lazy, position.

"Hitsugaya-taicho," she mused quietly to herself, "child—no, not child anymore—young prodigy, captiain of the Tenth Division of the Gotei 13 and beloved, although bratty and cold, friend to many."

She chuckled at her little biography of the young man lying in the bed in front of her.

Leaning onto the bed, arms folded under her chin, Matsumoto looked up at the pale face. "What have you gotten yourself into, taicho?"

"Besides a wonderfully run Care Unit, sponge baths, and plenty of rest and relaxation? Hmm… Trouble would probably be the best way to describe it."

Sitting up in surprise, Matsumoto looked over at the man leaning on the doorframe. "Ukitake-taicho!"

"Good afternoon, Matsumoto." He nodded his head respectfully and stepped into the room. "I had come to spend some time with Hitsugaya, but it seems you've beat me to it." He smiled gently at her tired expression and pulled up a chair beside her.

Catching sight of the pink wrapper hidden inside the captain's sleeve, Matsumoto inquired about the sugary sweet when the sickly man got settled into his seat. "Candy for Hitsugaya-taicho?"

Ukitake nodded before grinning sheepishly and pulling out the lolipop, handing it to the woman beside him. "I keep forgetting how quickly he's grown up in the past few months," he turned to the captain they were discussing and sighed, "apparently he's grown again."

"Mmhmm," a soft popping sound was made as she withdrew the sweet from her mouth, "it seems as though he grows more during times of stress and change."

The white-haired man rose his eyebrows in surprise. "That's very insightful of you, Matsumoto-san." He redirected his gaze to the other white-haired male in the room. "He'll stop aging soon… He's so deathly pale, though." Matsumoto nodded her agreement, still hungrily feasting on the sugary delight. "What did Unohana-taicho say?"

Crunching up the piece of candy that she broke off from the stick, Matsumoto wrinkled her nose as a small sliver dug into her gums. "She said that since he became stable last week, he's stayed healthy and they therefore decided to move him from his previous rooms, in the Intensive Care Unit, to this room two days ago." She paused for breath and dislodged a particularly sticky piece of candy from her teeth before continuing. "His wound has avoided any and all signs of infection, his fevers have stopped, and he's making steady progress to be up and moving soon."

Ukitake nodded wistfully, knowing there was still more to this report.

With another deep breath, Matsumoto ploughed on. "Unohana-taicho mentioned that his condition, although similar to Hinamori's, is not as severe as hers and his mind should allow him to wake up inbetween the time frame of now and the beginning of January."

When she was sure that he was satisfied with the quality and quantity of the information he had received, Matsumoto returned the candy to her mouth and continued her previous attack on it.

"In just a month…? Hmm…"

Silence returned to the room for a few moments as the two shinigami watched the steady breaths of their injured friend.

"Rangiku?" Surprised by the sudden use of her first name, Matsumoto looked up at the captain of the 13th Divison. "How did this happen?" Ukitake gestured distractedly towards the bed, his brown eyes focused on her blue ones.

"How did it…?" Her eyes clouded over slightly, lost in the memory as she lowered the lolipop from her now-red lips. "He…I…He was…"

"Easy now…" Ukitake encouraged her gently, eyes softening and a friendly smile gracing his features.

Taking in a shuddering breath, Matsumoto closed her eyes and shook her head ligthly; clearing the cobwebs of her thoughts. "I had been out drin- uh, _socializing_ with Renji and Kira…"

- -

_Matusmoto hummed lightly in her dazed state, eyes glossed and feet stumbling over each other as she swung her sake bottle back and forth._

_A soft breeze floated by her, tossing her hair about her face and chilling her body. "Mmm…Fresh air!" She murmured gleefully as she leaned over the banister for a moment. "Eh? What?"_

_A single, horribly familiar scent drifted past her nostrils._

"_Blood…?"_

_Quickly jumping into action, Matsumoto placed her sake bottle on the edge of the banister and focused her riestu, searching for other riestu closeby that were weak. Concern swallowed her as her location made itself known in the back of her drunken mind; being so close to the Tenth and Ninth Divisions meant that someone very skilled would have been injured and the fight may have been serious._

"_Then again…" she muttered happily, her previous state of mind returning, "it could have just been a slightly violent spar." She smiled at her own 'wisdom' and continued along her path to the Tenth Division doors, pausing halfway to return to the banister to collect her sake and hurry back to the doors once again._

"_Taicho is going to kill me…" she giggled as she entered the office, making a beeline for the couch. "Ow!" She winced as her toe slammed against something rather hard. "Damn furniture!"_

_She reached blindly into the darkness, feeling for some type of table, chair or desk. Nothing was within reach at waistlevel, so she crouched and felt around for something else._

_Perhaps it was a sake bottle?_

_Her hands slid across the tatami mats and then knocked against the side of what she had kicked. Fingering the material on the object, she furrowed her brows in surprise._

"_A sword hilt?" She wondered in amazement, groping her hip for her own zanpakuto. It was there._

_So whose was this?_

_Reaching over to the lamp on the wall, Matsumoto felt for the string and pulled the switch; turning the light on. Wincing at the sudden flood of light, she narrowed her eyes and looked back down at the object._

_She knew that hilt. It was Hyourinmaru; Hitsugaya's zanpakuto._

_What was it doing in the middle of the office?_

_Turning bleary eyes to the blade of the sword, Matsumoto gasped at the crimson blood that stained the edge of the gleaming blade and the white tatami mats beneath it._

_That much blood around a sword?_

_Peering farther above the sword, Matsumoto ignored the shattered sake bottle as she dropped it and instead opted for shrieking her lungs out._

"_Hitsugaya-taicho!"_

**- -**

"…And that's how I found him," Matusmoto finished quietly, looking down at her lap; lolipop having been finished in the middle of her story, "I'm not exactly sure how it happened, but Unohana told me that…" She swallowed the upsetting lump that appeared in her throat and dragged in another deep breath, shaking with the effort.

"Unohana told you that…?" Ukitake urged, eyes serious with contemplation.

"She told me…she said that the wound appeared to be…to be self-inflicted."

"Self-inflicted?" Ukitake repeated in surprise, dark eyebrows lost in the mass of white bangs that fell in front of his face. "Hitsugaya-kun did that to himself?"

Matusmoto nodded and raised a pink-nail-tipped finger to pause any other comments. "There's more." At the even more surprised expression on the captain's face, Matsumoto shook her head in despair and a little bit of amazement as well. "The wound was on _exactly_ the same line as the wound Aizen inflicted upon him. _Exactly_ the same. I saw it myself. It was not even a hair's breadth out of line of the previous scar."

"Not a hair's breadth…?" He muttered distractedly; amusingly unaware of how he repeated the last thing she said to him every time.

"Yup, exactly. And the most frightening part of it, was the way he gazed up at the door. He wasn't even unconscious at the time I found him—and that was at least three hours after the incident—instead, he was murmuring Hinamori's name and-," she glanced at the stationary captain on the bed next to her, "and he was…he was _crying_." She whispered the last word in a mixture of amazement and grief. "I've never, in all my years working with him, seen Hitsugaya-taicho cry. Not even when Hinamori ponted her own zanpakuto at him nor when she almost died two months ago."

Ukitake patted Matsumoto's back with one hand as he rubbed his chin in thought with the other. "Hinamori-chan…?" Deciding to move away from this disturbing topic, Ukitake tapped Matsumoto's shoulder to regain her attention. "And Hinamori? I heard she came out of Intensive Care last month, a week after Hitsugaya-kun was admitted here?"

"Yeah. Actually, taicho, she's awoken now."

"She's awake?!"

"Yeah. We were all surprised and eager to see her, however, she can't have visitors at the moment. She woke up a little over a month ago and is still recovering from the information of Aizen's death and the extent of his betrayal."

"The poor girl…" The 13th Division captain shook his head in denial. "What has happened to the Great Gotei 13…?" Turning to look at the 10th Divison's lieutenant, Ukitake patted her knee and stood up. "It seems as though I've outwelcomed my stay. I'll visit again soon, and be sure to give both Hinamori-chan and Hitsugaya-kun my best wishes when you see or speak to either one. Do not worry; Hitsugaya-kun is a strong young man. He's developed far past the phase of a child and even looks far past it now. He'll wake up sometime after his birthday. I'm sure of it."

Matusmoto looked up in surprise as the captain left. "Taicho's birthday…"

She had forgotten about that event in the midst of all the drama of the past year, particularly the last nine months. She grimaced at her own thoughts. "Uugh, Rangiku! You sound like a pregnant woman. 'Nine months'! Bah!"

Shaking off her disgruntled mood, Matsumoto directed her gaze to her captain. He really did look much older than he did two months ago. It's amazing what a traumatic event can do to someone's age. He looked to be almost eighteen! That's a large leap from the twelve year old he appeared to be previously.

"Matsumoto-fukutaicho?" Unohana called the attention of the blonde sitting deep in thought in front of her. When she jumped slightly and looked over her shoulder, Unohana continued. "Hinamori has inquired about Hitsugaya-taicho. Shall we allow her to see him?"

"Will she be able to…handle it?"

"I believe it will be better for her to see him; she already knows of his condition." At Matsumoto's nod, Unohana gestured over her shoulder at someone standing a few feet away from the door and stepped into the room, helping Hinamori enter as well.

"Good afternoon Hinamori." Matusmoto called cheerfully to the thin girl in front of her.

Large eyes widening even further, Hinamori gasped lightly at the sight of her old frend. "M-Matsumoto…! Good afternoon. How are you?"

Chuckling lightly, Matusmoto waved a hand in the air in front of her. "No need for formalities Hinamori! Sit down, sit down!" Oh how she had missed this tender soul of a shinigami.

"I will leave you three, then?"

Matusmoto looked puzzled for a moment. "Three…? Oh!" She grinned sheepishly at the other two women in the room. "I forgot about the little guy for a second there."

Unohana smiled softly before calling "don't let him hear that" over her shoulder and leaving the room as swiftly as she had entered.

Matusmoto grinned broadly at the brown-haired girl in front of her, who gazed at Hitsugaya with concern.

'_His birthday, huh?'_

**- -**

**A/N**: Lucky me! I actually managed to pull up another chapter in the time span of a week! –victory dance- Reviews! Reviews!! Reviews!!!


	3. Chapter 3

**White Peaches**

**Chapter 3**

**- -**

"Shirou-kun's birthday?" Hinamori whispered; her eyes wide with wonder at the drawing Matsumoto held in front of her. "You want to plan a party for his birthday?"

Matsumoto dropped the pad of paper and leapt at Hinamori, covering her mouth with her hands. "Shh!" Looking around the completely private and deserted room carefully, Matsumoto stepped away from the slightly startled girl and retrieved her drawings. "Don't be too loud about it! It'll just be you, Ukitake-taicho, Renji, Kira, Nagasawa-taicho, and I. Remember: this is a s-e-c-r-e-t!"

Hinamori nodded enthusiastically and continued to watch as Matsumoto collected her items which laid strewn about Hitsugaya's Care Unit room. When Matsumoto was finally finished, Hinamori winced as the blonde stretched; popping her back bones and cracking her neck in the process.

She pouted as her fellow lieutenant laughed at the grimace she had made. "I'll make some more plans and show them to you tomorrow, but take these for now." Hinamori took the wad of paper that was offered to her and wrinkled her nose as Matsumoto ruffled her hair. "Make sure you get some rest too. Unohana-taicho told me that you were here until early in the morning yesterday; don't do it again! I need you to have full-level energy for this party."

Hinamori sighed and slumped into her chair as the door finally slid shut; leaving her in the room with Hitsugaya.

"I feel like such a child…" She muttered ruefully as she recalled the past few days' events. Ever since she had 'reunited' with Matsumoto and Hitsugaya, her muscles had been flexed, tested, worked and tired out as she was assigned the task of helping Matsumoto take care of minor Tenth Division lieutenant duties as both part of her physical and mental rehabilitation; however, she hadn't realized that party-planning would be a part of it.

Rustling the papers in her hands and smoothing out the wrinkles, Hinamori began to re-read the information they held. She murmured quietly as she read, "Invitations will be delivered to: Hinamori-fukutaicho, Matsumoto-fukutaicho, Renji-fukutaicho, Kira-fukutaicho, Ukitake-taicho, and Nagasawa-taicho…" Tilting the papers down towards her lap again, Hinamori lifted a hand to rub her burning eyes. "Nagasawa-taicho…"

Upon awakening, Hinamori had been informed about four main issues: Aizen's betrayal, Aizen's death, her newly assigned captain, and Hitsugaya's recent injury.

After her break down over the memory of the stabbing, Hinamori recollected herself and had tried her best to calmly listen to Unohana's explanation of the past fourteen months.

Firstly, she explained what had happened after the stabbing, such as the rescue of Rukia Kuchiki, the defeat of Byakuya-taicho versus Ichigo Kurosaki, Hitsugaya's angry attack and defeat at Aizen's hands, the joint betrayal of Tousen, Ichimaru, and Aizen as they revealed their true plan and their partnership with the hollows, and everything else that happened that fateful day.

After that painful and rather long explanation was over,—many tears, denials, gasps, outbursts and reassuring words later—Unohana had moved onto the topic of Ichigo & co.'s attack on Aizen's group of criminals and his eventual death which, oddly enough, relieved Hinamori to some extent. The shock of his death was much less brutal as the shock of his betrayal seeing as his eventual death was to be expected when you betrayed the shinigami of Soul Society—especially _substitute_ shinigami it seemed.

The next discussion topic caused a great deal of stress and heartache for Hinamori. The third seat of the Fifth Division, Kaoru Nagasawa, was elected to take the place of the former Fifth Division captain, Sousuke Aizen.

Really, she wasn't all that surprised by that piece of information. She, the second in command, was in a coma for over a year and unable to step up to the pedestal placed at the top of the Fifth Division; therefore the next in line would be asked to take the seat.

What _really_ hurt her was the fact that part of her still believed that Aizen was the man he had pretended to be with her and the others. Part of her felt that Nagasawa was betraying Aizen.

The night after she was visited by Nagasawa, she decided that that part of her was foolish and naïve; two things she vowed she would change about herself as best as she could.

The most shocking news, however, was the news of Hitsugaya's admission to the Intensive Care Unit a week prior to her awakening.

The moment after she had heard of Hitsugaya's attack on Aizen, an action spurred by her injury and Aizen's betrayal to her, Hinamori had frantically begged Unohana to take her to the Tenth Division to apologize to and see her childhood friend. The look that Unohana gave her should have registered as a look of grief, but she was too consumed by her own grief to notice anyone else's. Almost a week later, she received an in-depth explanation as to why she had been unable to see her Shirou-kun.

She had been sitting in her bed, deep in thought, when…

- -

'_Shirou-chan…'_

"_Hinamori-fukutaicho?"_

_Hinamori looked up in surprise at Unohana's very quiet and subtle entrance into the room._

"_Yes?"_

"_You asked about Hitsugaya-taicho the other day, ne?" At Hinamori's frantic nod and desperate attempt to crawl across the bed to eagerly accept the news, Unohana stepped further into the room and pulled up a chair to the bed. "Please don't push your body so much, Hinamori-fukutaicho."_

"_Uh, yes…" Blushing slightly at her child-like eagerness and impatience, Hinamori resettled herself into her sheets and cast an excited gaze towards the Fourth Division captain. "Sorry…"_

"_Hinamori-san…"_

_At the eerily familiar tone of Unohana's voice, Hinamori's heart leapt into her throat as she tried to force tears away from her eyes with her will power. "Unohana…-taicho?" She had used that tone with Hinamori whenever she reached a particularly upsetting part of her explanation of Aizen's actions and plans. Whatever news this was about Hitsugaya must be negative._

_Did he not want to see her because of what she had done to him? Was he even here? Unohana had reassured her that Hitsugaya was alive, so was he extremely busy?_

_The gentle woman's voice broke her out of her reverie of thoughts. "Hitsugaya-taicho…Hitsugaya-taicho was unable to see you because he was admitted into the Medicinal Care Unit under Intensive Care a little over two weeks ago…"_

_Bringing a trembling hand to her lips, Hinamori stared at Unohana in disbelief. "Intensive Care? **Two **weeks ago…?"_

_Unohana nodded solemnly and covered the hand Hinamori had left stationary on the bed sheets with her own larger hand. "He was brought in by Hisagi-fukutaicho and Matusmoto-fukutaicho in the middle of the night; he had lost a considerable amount of blood."_

"_Blood? What…? How did he…? Is he-?"_

_Raising a hand at the fountain of questions presented in front of her, Unohana continued. "Matsumoto reported to me that she had stumbled over his zanpakuto when she entered the Tenth Division office and found his bloodied body next to it. We sent the Twelfth Division Investigation Unit into the office immediately and rushed him to Emergency. We had to provide him with blood and close the wound."_

_Unohana wiped away a few stray tears on Hinamori's face and rubbed her shoulder gently. "After the blood was cleaned up, and the wound was finally successfully closed, we made the strangest observation." Unohana cast a glance at the shivering girl and decided that it was best to simply bare the entire truth. "The wound was perfectly aligned with the scarred wound Aizen had left on Hitsugaya."_

_Hinamori sat up straighter, concern and fear creeping into her voice as she tightened her grip on the hand Unohana had laid over hers. "The same wound? Was it-?"_

"_No, no. It was not Aizen. Actually, it was Hitsugaya himself…"_

"_What!"_

"_Kurotsuchi-taicho of the Twelfth Division promptly reported to me the next morning with the findings the Investigations Unit had discovered. Apparently, the only DNA on Hyourinmaru was Hitsugaya-taicho's and Matsumoto-fukutaicho's; Hitsugaya-taicho's blood and skin were on the sword blade and hilt while Matsumoto-fukutaicho's fingerprints were on the hilt because of her fumbling with it upon the discovery of Hitsugaya-taicho's body."_

"_But how do they know…?"_

_Hinamori shuddered at the gaze Unohana directed towards her as she began speaking once again. "Hitsugaya-taicho was conscious upon discovery and was only repeating your name."_

"_My…!" Hinamori grasped her throat as a wave of sickness washed over her. After swallowing the bile that rose threateningly inside her mouth, Hinamori looked up at her superior with wide, frightened eyes. "What does that mean?"_

"_I will get to that in a moment. After receiving this information, I ran some tests on Hitsugaya-taicho. His situation was very similar to yours in the way in which his mind was fighting his body to force him into submission and withdrawal." As Unohana reached up to wipe away her tears again, Hinamori wiped furiously at them herself and straightened herself before gesturing that she was ready for the captain to continue. "This could only mean one of few things: Hitsugaya-taicho had snapped under the stress of the past few weeks, you had attacked him yourself, or someone disguised as you attacked him."_

_Fear gripped Hinamori's heart ruthlessly. "What if…what if I did it while I was unconscious? What if I really did it?! I'd never…I wouldn't be able to forgive myself…! I-!"_

"_Hinamori-fukutaicho, please calm down. Don't stress yourself too greatly. There was absolutely no one else in the room before Matusmoto entered besides Hitsugaya himself. Kurotsuchi-taicho tested the room himself. I believe that with the stress of your initial coma, the issues with Aizen, the added stress of your transfer into Intensive care, the amount of work required of Hitsugaya-taicho, and his lack of sleep, Hitsugaya-taicho had undergone a mental breakdown and that may have lead him to irrational thoughts. This partially explains why your name was brought into this. Since his stress and worries were mainly revolved around issues concerning you—not that anyone is blaming you—his final few thoughts were centered on you and his mind clutched that as his body began to shut down after the wound was inflicted."_

_The previously cleared up tears blurred Hinamori's vision once again and she buried her face into her hands. "Shirou…Shirou-chan…!"_

"_I have good news for you, though. Hitsugaya-taicho has been removed from Intensive Care and his current condition is relatively stable. Just as you needed time to awake on your own, he needs time for his mind to heal and calm down. I estimate that he should wake up some time after the New Year."_

"_Will he…Will he really be able to wake up in just a little over a month?"_

"_That time frame is just an estimation at the moment."_

"_Oh…" Hinamori wiped at he tears and began to wring the sheets beneath her hands nervously. Thoughts tripped over themselves and stumbled to the foreground of her mind as she absorbed and analyzed this information. "Are you sure that I didn't…?"_

_Guilt flooded into the depths of her brown eyes as she gazed pathetically at Unohana. "Yes, I am sure Hinamori-fukutaicho. It is impossible, illogical, and unreasonable. There is no way you could have gotten out of bed, let alone attack Hitsugaya-taicho. Do you remember the first day you awoke? You couldn't even turn your head by yourself. Please trust me on this Hinamori-fukutaicho; you did not in any way inflict Hitsugaya-taicho's wound."_

"_Alright…"_

"_Shall I allow you to soak up this information?"_

"_Please."_

"_I will return in an hour with your dinner." Unohana rose from her chair and walked towards the door, sliding it open and stepping out. She grasped the handle to close it again when Hinamori's voice called out to her hesitantly._

"_Thank you for telling me this, Unohana-taicho."_

_Smiling sadly, Unohana closed the door._

**- -**

Sighing huffily, Hinamori refocused her attention on the papers in front of her; willing her headache away. "'The party will be held in Hitsugaya-taicho's rest room in the Care Unit facilities. Gifts are appreciated and a single item of food from each invitee is greatly encouraged. Hinamori-fukutaicho is in charge of the party budget for minor decorations, cake, sake, and paid shinigami to take care of the paperwork which will be left behind by any and all guests.' Of course Matusmoto would include sake with any party." Hinamori smiled lightly at the scrawled image of sake in the margin of the paper.

She set down the papers on the table next to her and readjusted her position in the chair, pulling it closer to Hitsugaya's immobile form in the process. Brushing a stray strand of white hair away from his equally white face, Hinamori bit back the tears that prickled the back of her eyes threateningly.

"I'm sorry, Shirou-kun…"

A small smile formed on her face. _Shirou-kun_. He would be so happy if he heard her say that; she was finally acknowledging his growth and 'upgraded' his name from the previous "Shirou-chan."

That's just the thing, though: he _would_ be so happy. He _would_ if he wasn't currently slumbering in a light coma.

She sniffled as a miserable attempt to further withhold her tears.

No matter how many times everyone repeated the fact that this was **not her fault** she would always partially blame herself. Even just a little bit.

"Shirou-kun…" Drawing in a struggling breath, Hinamori placed her hand over Hitsugaya's slightly curled fist as renegade tears streamed out her eyes; leaving shimmering tracks behind them to tell the tale of sadness that her heart whispered into her being. Whimpering softly in her failed attempt to maintain composure, Hinamori was far too distracted to notice the entrance of Unohana's reiatsu into the room.

"Hinamori-fukutaicho…"

The sad, concerned murmur went unheard by the girl as she tried desperately to muffle her sobs in the mattress in front of her. "…I'm so sorry…Shirou-kun…"

**- -**

**A/N**: Review, please. Also, if you would like a certain situation, scene or theme to be used in the course of this story, feel free to send me a message describing it and I'll try my best to add it into the story along with my own ideas. )


	4. Chapter 4

**White Peaches**

**Chapter 4**

**- -**

The next few days flew by in a flurry of activity for Hinamori.

She exhaled contently in the hot bath she was currently soaking in.

A few hours previously, Unohana had declared that Hinamori was more than ready to return to the Fifth Division, but she would have to take it easy on the work load. Hinamori felt eternally grateful to the woman when she had returned to her room and found a steaming bath had already been drawn for her. Sadly, this time of relaxation would have to be rather short; she had a lot of work to do.

Planning parties was not exactly what one would call a regular duty of a lieutenant of the Gotei 13, however, Hinamori was having a lot of fun with it and apparently it was a very good way for her to build up muscle to help her along with her physical recuperation.

Then again, it wasn't all that surprising. Not with all the running around she'd done in the past couple of days. Back and forth, back and forth. From the Care Unit building, to the Tenth Division building, to the Fifth Division building, then back to the Care Unit building, then loop back around to the Tenth Division, then Thirteenth, then Sixth, then Third, then rush back to Tenth before sprinting to the Care Unit, only to have to then sprint to the Fourth Division building before walking back to the Care Unit with Unohana. It had been utterly exhausting! She was stunned that she didn't faint or worsen her condition from all the movement; but apparently her period of weakness was over now.

And now, for a scant ten minutes, she was reclined in her large tub and half-drowning in a mixture of heavenly bliss and bubbles. Life was certainly very interesting and very, very complicated with the way it seemed to keep you too busy to notice the simple pleasures in life such as a bath.

After quickly washing up, and relaxing again for the last five minutes, Hinamori stepped out of the tub and redressed herself.

A chill ran down her spine as she thought about her next destination; the Tenth Division office. She would have to spend _at _least a couple hours in the room in which Hitsugaya had spent countless hours stressing over her, the room in which Hitsugaya stabbed himself, and the room in which Hitsugaya's bloodied body was found.

Although she had traveled to the Tenth Division building many times since she had been allowed to leave the Care Unit building, she had never actually been inside that one particular room—it didn't help that she tried her very best to avoid the room at all costs. Tomorrow, however, it would be inevitable. The planning and construction of the invitations, decorations and room layout would need plenty of room and appropriate resources; all of which were in the office.

It was slightly hard to believe that Hitsugaya's birthday was in only a little over a week when they still had so much planning to complete. Hinamori would never have guessed that Matsumoto was a perfectionist when it came to these kinds of things; every plan had been carefully articulated and laid out in both writing and pictorial form. This was going to be a very professional, although welcoming and enjoyable, party that Hitsugaya would be sure to appreciate when he heard about it.

Smiling softly to herself, Hinamori secured her hair in its customary bun and wrapped it with the old turquoise cloth she always used. When she was sure that she looked presentable, Hinamori left her rooms and headed into the chilly afternoon.

It was December 14th already. The way time seemed to soar above her head without her notice was absolutely mind-numbing. And the fact that she had been in a coma for fourteen months sure didn't help. She was up and moving near the end of June and now here she was; over a _year_ later and in the middle of December. It was honestly and truly very frightening. Very frightening indeed.

As she slid open the Tenth Division doors, the sight of large stacks of paper, markers, pens, streamers, and the plans they had made were strewn about the floor messily while Matsumoto sat in the middle, a marker in each hand, a pen behind each ear, and one sheet of paper clenched between her teeth.

Holding back a giggle, Hinamori slid the door shut behind her. "Matsumoto?"

"Hnfh? Oh Hnnammmee! Gurbapen mend gum murp me." Hinamori knelt next to the blonde and removed the paper from her mouth. "Thanks. Grab a pen and come help me." She repeated as she pointed at Hitsugaya's desk.

Ignoring the pop of her knees as she rose, Hinamori shuffled towards the desk—mindful of the items below her feet—and grabbed a blue pen out of the vase-like cup that held a multitude of colorful pens. She smiled warmly at the familiar sight; apparently Hitsugaya didn't dislike the glittery pens she had given him as much as he had claimed those many years ago. She couldn't believe he still had them.

"Matsumoto?"

"Hmm?"

Gesturing to the cup of writing utensils, Hinamori smiled sheepishly. "Shirou-kun kept the pens I had given him?"

Putting down the markers in her hands, Matsumoto grinned devilishly and nodded enthusiastically. "He guards them like a dog. No one is allowed to use them except him; and even then he only uses them for signing his signature and writing personal documents. He told me that he was simply trying to preserve the ink in order to ensure you wouldn't go out and buy 'even more ridiculous' pens from the human world the next time around." At Hinamori's slightly put out look, Matusmoto laughed heartily and turned back to her work. "That, of course, was the worst lie Hitsugaya-taicho had ever told me."

Smiling once again, Hinamori plopped down next to her friend and took the stack of papers and envelopes she handed to her. "Invitations?" When Matsumoto nodded distractedly and handed her the sheet full of names, Hinamori set to work enthusiastically.

"Make sure they are fancy. Aah! No! Don't use red! Blue! Blue and silver! Really, Hinamori!"

Hours later, when the air began to bite with cold and the sun had retreated as the moon took reign over the sky, Hinamori slouched back on the couch and sighed as she warmed her hands against the steaming cup of tea between her hands.

When Matsumoto joined her with her own mug of the sweet liquid, they continued their conversation on the layout of the to-be party room.

"I think we should raise Hitsugaya-taicho's bed up; like a platform. Make him the star of the show." Hinamori almost choked on her tea at the image that formed in her mind from Matsumoto's suggestion.

"I think we should just leave his bed the way it is so that everyone can have access to him and make sure his subconscious will know we're there and that we care."

Matsumoto snorted. "I still think his subconscious will only glare at the signs we made." Hinamori cast a glance at the bright, colorful signs that read 'Happy Birthday Hitsugaya-taicho!' with cartoons, hearts, snowballs and snowflakes doodled all over them in carefully planned designs. "We might as well poke fun at him while we still can."

"Matsumoto!"

"What?"

"He's injured!"

"So?"

"You're such a bully!"

"I'm not a bully! I'm a shinigami!" Turning her nose up at the girl next to her, Matsumoto continued to sip at her tea. "Besides, he's going to wake up after his birthday anyways."

This time, Hinamori did choke on her tea. "He will? I thought he was supposed to wake up in January. Wait, how do you know, anyways?"

"Ukitake-taicho told me and Unohana-taicho even agreed that that would be the most likely time. All the movement and fuss we'll make on his birthday will bring his conscious closer to the surface."

Taking in the relieving information, Hinamori took another sip of her tea. "No one told me that… But that still doesn't mean you should bully him Matsumoto."

"Humph! If you think _I'm_ a bully, you should see what Kira and Renji have planned for the birthday boy."

Hinamori's eyes widened in dread. She knew Renji wasn't exactly the kindest soul in the world, but surely he wouldn't take too much advantage of Hitsugaya while he was injured. And Kira? There was no way he would do anything that Renji would have planned to do to anyone, let alone to a captain.

At Hinamori's skeptical expression, Matsumoto continued. "It'll be rather embarrassing for Hitsugaya-taicho, if I do say so myself. It involves markers, a razor and a diaper."

A horrifying image of a bald Hitsugaya in a diaper with squiggly lines drawn all over his face while Ukitake tied a birthday hat to his head and force fed cake into his mouth popped into Hinamori's mind. She shrieked with laughter and only narrowly avoided spilling her almost-finished tea all over her lap.

Finally winding down from her fit of giggles, Hinamori gasped for breath. "Th-They…They wouldn't!"

This time Matsumoto laughed, heading over to the desk and pulling out a piece of paper. She handed the drawing to Hinamori.

The images on the paper only succeeded in tipping over Hinamori's cup—which Matsumoto saved—and causing the lieutenant to break into tears with the force of her giggles.

The paper held a very poorly made drawing of Hitsugaya, bald just as Hinamori had imagined, with a mustache, beard, lipstick, blush, mascara and eye-shadow drawn and colored onto his sleeping face with nothing but a diaper on as Renji and Kira danced around him laughing and Matsumoto poured sake onto his head.

Hinamori could only stutter out a quick "who…?" before falling victim to her laughter once again. When Matsumoto replied with Renji's name, a very unlikely suspect when it came to attention-grabbing drawings, Hinamori choked on her own breath in an attempt to stop the roaring laughter that took over the Tenth Division office.

When the two females had finally tamed their snickers, they sat back against the couch—now seated on the floor after much rolling in the mess they made—and caught their breath.

"I can't believe… I can't believe that people from the Twelfth…Eleventh and Ninth Division…came here thinking we were being…being murdered." Hinamori managed to rasp out through her heavy breathing.

Matsumoto smiled exhaustedly at the memory of the recent event. "Don't forget the Third and Second Divisions as well." Grabbing a tall cup of water off of the desk above her, Matsumoto took a long swig before handing it to Hinamori. "And they are all the way across the courtyard."

Hinamori giggled into the glass as she sipped at it carefully, trying her best to prevent spilled the liquid as they had done to the tea.

When they resettled themselves, Matsumoto claimed the couch as Hinamori leaned against Hitsugaya's large mahogany desk.

Groggy brown eyes peered at the Tenth Division lieutenant as she drifted into a snoring slumber; the owner of the brown eyes being very close to that state herself. Actually, now that Hinamori thought about it, it must be quite late for it to be this dark. She snorted softly; she never seemed to be able to keep up with time anymore.

Her eyes widened and she rose frantically from her relaxed position.

Time! They had completely forgotten about the time! Ukitake and Renji's invitations were unfinished and the layout for the room had still not been decided.

"Matsumoto!" Hinamori called as she shook the slumbering woman. Deciding that this method wasn't working, Hinamori picked Matsumoto up under her arms and lifted her halfway off the couch before she caught a glimpse of the clock. "Damn!" Amazed at her own choice of words, Hinamori let go of the lieutenant and covered her mouth with her hands.

Matsumoto landed with a loud crash followed by a howl of "ouch!"

"Oh! Damn!" Hinamori bent down to lift her friend up again, but realized her choice of words again. "Aah! Damn! Aah! Not again!"

Matsumoto, now very much awake, glared up at the conflicted brunette. "I thought blondes were supposed to be the dense ones!"

Hinamori looked down at the crumpled up woman in disbelief, her bottom lip trembling. "I'm dense…?"

"You dropped me on my head!" The blonde slurred her words slightly, her eyes dropping closed strangely.

Turning around and crossing her arms rebelliously, Hinamori turned her nose up. "No I didn't! If I did you would-," Matsumoto collapsed in a heap, unbeknownst to the speaking shinigami, "-be unconscious or severely injured."

Spinning back around to playfully glare at her friend, Hinamori came to a clumsy stop—ending in her tangled in her robes on the ground—as she spotted Matsumoto's crumpled figure.

Hinamori frantically scrambled to pick up Matsumoto. "Damn! Oh, not again!" She dropped her just as quickly as she had picked her up at the sound of her own foul language only to swear again as she heard the thud of Matusmoto's head against the tatami mats. "Aah! I'm so sorry Matsumoto!"

**- -**

**A/N**: Review, review, review!


	5. Chapter 5

**White Peaches**

**Chapter 5**

**- -**

December 15th:

After the little ordeal in the Tenth Division office with Matsumoto, Hinamori was pretty sure she had had more than enough of her fair share of party planning.

Unfortunately, Matsumoto had not had nearly enough and apparently Ukitake wanted to join into the pointless task.

"Hinamori!"

Said shinigami rushed to her fellow lieutenant and handed her the estimated costs for sake, juice and wine.

"Hinamori-fukutaicho!"

Rushing back to the other side of the office, Hinamori pulled a wad of paper from her pocket and handed it to the Thirteenth Division captain.

"Hinamori, I wasn't finished!" Matsumoto called from the other side of the room.

"Yes!" Once again rushing across the room, Hinamori stopped and waited at the large desk in front of her.

"I need you to go and ask Renji what he prefers to drink."

"Eh? Weren't you supposed to do that two days ago?"

"…"

Hinamori glared at the blonde accusingly. "Matsumoto?"

"…I was busy…?" Smiling sheepishly in an 'I'm pretty, please don't hurt me' way, Matsumoto slid a cup of liquid towards Hinamori. "Sake?"

Shaking her head in disbelief, Hinamori turned to Ukitake across the room. "Would you like me to do anything while I'm out, Ukitake-taicho?"

"Hmm?" Looking up distractedly, Ukitake waved a hand in the air above his head. "No, no; have fun."

Smiling gratefully at the white-haired man, Hinamori made her way towards the door.

"Oh, actually…" She sighed in defeat at the suddenly urgent voice that called out to her; wasn't she supposed to be taking it easy with as little stress as possible?

Slinking back into the room in surrender, Hinamori looked up at the two of them.

"Do you think you could get us some sake?"

Hinamori let her shoulders sag, her head tilt to the side, and her mouth hang open as she mentally reminded herself to call dibs on the paper work rather than the messenger work next time.

- -

December 16th:

"Matsumoto-fukutaicho!"

Hinamori could not believe this woman! She was sleeping in the middle of the day while paperwork was stacked on her desk and expenses for the food had to be calculated.

With a startled snore, Matsumoto blinked blurry blue eyes at the brunette above her. "Hinamori…?"

Hinamori waited expectantly, slightly concerned by the greatly alarmed and upset expression that Matsumoto was displaying at the moment. "…Where's the sake…?"

- -

December 17th:

Finally, after two long days of failure when it came to the topic of serious work, Hinamori was in the Fifth Division office calculating food and drink fees and every now and then Kira would come in to update her on bargains he'd gotten on items or preference changes that any of the few guests made.

Honestly, Hinamori had no idea that the shinigami of the Gotei 13 were so spoiled.

First Renji had asked for sake, then juice, then sparkling water—which they were not planning to include—, then juice again, then wine and finally he decided that he would actually like to go back and settle for the juice. He had later explained to her that he was conflicted as to whether or not he should whoop it up or relax during the party which was also the day before he was scheduled to go into the Human World for an assignment. Either way, Hinamori didn't see the extreme difficulty in make a decision over a drink.

She wasn't really sure why they were only providing a certain amount of drinks, actually. It was probably for Hitsugaya's safety, though; in case Matsumoto and Renji decided to overload on sake and torture the immobile captain.

Luckily, she had been able to convince Renji and Kira not to execute their birthday prank on Hitsugaya; however, she wasn't sure if they would remember that agreement when they were under the influence.

…

Maybe they shouldn't have sake at all?

Hinamori set down her pen and leaned back into her chair, rubbing her temples as she sighed in frustration.

Never again would she plan a party. Despite the fact that only six people were being invited, the entire planning process was a chaotic event that she never wanted to witness or be a part of again.

"Hihinahamohorihi!"

Horrified by the dismemberment of her name, Hinamori watched the giddy Tenth Division lieutenant enter the room and make herself welcome on the couch.

"I'm bored, Hina-chan!" Matsumoto pouted as she slouched over the arm of the couch.

The stinging scent of sake drifted to Hinamori's nose, making her momentarily forget the lieutenant's abuse of her name and Yachiru-like nickname she had just used to address her with. She shook her head in disbelief and reached for the pen she had been using previously. "Matsumoto, how can you drink sake so early in the day?"

With an over-exaggerated gasp, Matsumoto sat straight up and waved her hand in Hinamori's general direction. "Sake is for any time of the day as long as you have access to it."

Pausing in her writing, Hinamori looked up at Matsumoto in surprise. She had no idea that her friend drank so much. "Drinking is very bad for you Matsumoto."

Snorting loudly, Matsumoto resettled herself on the couch and turned her back to Hinamori. "I don't see any other way to drown my sorrows."

Hinamori dropped her pen at the tone of sadness in the blonde's voice and began to rise from her chair in concern. "Matsumoto, I-." Before she could apologize, Matsumoto looked over her shoulder at Hinamori and stuck her tongue out at her playfully.

Surprised by the sudden change in Matsumoto's mood, Hinamori blanched before deciding it was better to leave Matsumoto to her drunken state and finish up the party plans before moving onto some paperwork.

As she moved onto the second sheet of paper, Hinamori heard a soft sniffle and a muffled sob coming from the couch.

Immediately abandoning her work, the 5th Division lieutenant rushed to her friend's side and touched her shoulder lightly.

"Ma-…Matsumoto…?"

Suddenly, Matsumoto flipped over on the couch and grabbed Hinamori in a bone-crushing hug. Hinamori froze in shock and slight fear until she felt hot tears slide down her neck.

"Ma…?"

"I miss taicho…" Hesitantly, Hinamori raised a hand to rub the older woman's back; a gesture meant to comfort her. "Life is so hard without him here to guide me…!"

As Matsumoto's sobs finally wound down slightly, Hinamori nervously cleared her throat; unsure of why there was a particular tightening in her chest at her friend's words. "Matsumoto… I don't know what to say… Is there anything I can-?"

"There's just… there's so much…" Taking a deep breath, Matsumoto finally finished her sentence with a frustrated wail, "…paperwork!" Suddenly appearing from Hinamori's shoulder, Matsumoto grinned widely at the young lieutenant and wiped her tears with the back of her sleeve. "Do you have sake?"

Remembering her earlier mental note on proposing the idea of excluding sake from the drink list, Hinamori decided that it would probably be better if she presented the idea to Ukitake rather than the plastered woman who was having mood swings in her office at the moment.

As she finally finished the cost estimations—having decided to leave sake in the drink list before she had to deal with an angry Matsumoto—Hinamori leaned back in her chair and glanced over the couch Matsumoto had previously occupied.

Was Matusmoto joking when she said she missed Hitsugaya? And even if she wasn't, did she mean it romantically or companionably? Was there a difference?

Making a mental note on that as well, Hinamori sighed for the hundredth time that hour; she needed a mental file organizer for all the mental notes she'd been making lately.

Sadly, Hinamori decided to make a mental note to ask the Research Institute about that filing system idea as well.

- -

December 18th:

Two days.

There were two days left, including this one, until Hitsugaya's birthday and the most Hinamori and Matsumoto had accomplished were finishing the invitations, drawing up a budget plan and—although this was mainly Matsumoto's doing—emptying the Tenth Division liquor cellar.

Matsumoto, now sobered up completely and taking the party seriously, was scowling at the large pile of paperwork on top of Hitsugaya's desk as she tapped a manicured finger on her own paperwork in annoyance.

"That," she ground out as she pointed to the mountain of papers, "is why I never tried to become a captain."

Hinamori laughed light-heartedly and nodded. "But you shouldn't be so upset about it Matsumoto; it'll get done eventually."

"Humph…" She then proceeded to chew on the back of her pen as she stared at the stack of papers contemplatively. "I know there was something…Oh!"

Hinamori looked up from the sign she was finishing coloring in surprise. "What is it?"

Rising form her chair and slapping the desk in front of her enthusiastically, Matsumoto grinned at the younger girl. "I almost forgot about the shinigami we were supposed to get to finish the paperwork! My problems are solved!"

"But how are you going to convince someone to do all this work?"

A foxy grin, eerily similar to Gin Ichimaru's, appeared on the blonde's face as she suddenly strolled out of the room confidently.

"Matsu…moto…?"

Shrugging off her friend's behavior, Hinamori turned back to the large paper in front of her and uncapped the light blue marker.

One banner, two signs, and one card later, Hinamori appreciated her work with pride.

But where was Matsumoto?

Despite the fact that she was very kind, pretty, voluptuous, and skilled, Matsumoto tended to be irresponsible and rather lazy. Sometimes Hinamori wondered why Commander Yamamoto placed her and Hitsugaya together.

Hinamori sighed and cleaned up her work, glancing up at the clock every now and then in the process.

When everything was cleaned and the decorations were put away, Hinamori sat in Hitsugaya's chair and spun around after a moment's hesitation. When she returned to a stationary position facing the desk, she decided to inspect the large mahogany piece of furniture.

On the far right of the desk was the cup full of pens that Hitsugaya kept to do his paperwork, sign documents, and write reports. Next to that was a nearly-empty paper tray that was neatly labeled "completed work". A writing mat was centered in the desk and in front of that was a handsome gold and emerald writing lamp.

Hinamori ran a finger up the cold metal until she reached the glass shade. She was thoroughly surprised at the carved design she found there.

Hesitantly, she traced the fruit tree that was displayed on the green glass. She wasn't quite sure if it was a plum tree or a peach tree, but there a lot of them and it almost looked as though the lamp shade was a small forest.

"It's a peach tree."

Letting out a high-pitched squeal, Hinamori almost fell off the chair in her moment of fright and glanced up at the Tenth Division lieutenant leaning casually on the doorframe. "Matsumoto! Don't scare me like that!"

"It's a peach tree." She repeated, unfazed by Hinamori's scolding tone and startled expression.

Righting herself on the chair, Hinamori cleared her throat nervously before looking back at the lamp. "I didn't know Shirou-kun liked peaches."

"I'm not sure if he likes them, but he likes having them around."

Matsumoto's tone was starting to make her feel nervous. "What?"

Smiling mischievously, Matsumoto straightened herself. "No, it's nothing. Anyways, I got someone to agree to do the paperwork." At her report, Matsumoto appeared to float on a cloud of her own pride as she went and sat at her desk.

Deciding she did not particularly want to know the details of Matsumoto's possible blackmail or seduction, Hinamori turned back to the lamp.

'_A small peach forest…?_'

- -

December 19th:

The day before Hitsugaya's birthday had finally arrived. Amazingly enough, Matsumoto had actually gotten her share of the work done without any slacking off after the little lamp-shade discussion and now there was very little of the planning left for them to do other than rearrange Hitsugaya's room and bring in the decorations.

"Matsumoto…!" Hinamori whined as she pointed towards the opposite corner of the room. "There! Remember? We said that banner would go there! Not here!"

Pouting in disappointment of having to reposition the banner she had struggled with for the past ten minutes; Matsumoto sulkily sat down on the chair she had been standing on. "It looks fine here!"

"Matsumoto…" Hinamori warned; much like a mother would to her child. "Put the banner up where it should be."

"Geez, Hinamori. You sure get bossy when it comes to Hitsugaya-taicho!"

"I'm not bossy!"

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

"I see you ladies are having fun."

Hinamori and Matsumoto paused in their tongue-sticking-out war to acknowledge Unohana as she stood at the door.

"Is this what you have been working on all week?"

Hinamori glared accusingly at Matsumoto. "We _would_ have been working all week if _someone_ wasn't slacking off." She stuck her tongue out at Matsumoto again before ducking the roll of streamers that whizzed above her head.

"Don't break anything." Unohana warned as she went up to Hitsugaya to proceed with a check-up.

Matsumoto threw another roll at Hinamori before replying. "I won't throw it hard enough to break any of the furniture, taicho."

Unohana chuckled lightly. "I meant in yourselves!"

Hinamori turned to Unohana and was about to duck a hastily thrown pillow when she froze in a mixture of shock, horror and embarrassment. The pillow whapped her in the face with a soft clapping sound before silently falling to her feet in a heap.

"Hmm? What's wrong Hinamori?" Matusmoto shuffled over to the red-faced girl and glanced in the direction she was looking at. "Eh?"

Unohana looked up from her inspection of Hitsugaya and cast a glance at the two lieutenants across the room. "What is it?"

Matsumoto pointed at Hitsugaya's prone form. "Aww! Taicho wears Christmas boxers! Hinamori do you see the little snowflakes? Aren't they cute?"

Hinamori's already tomato-red face burned brighter at Matsumoto's obvious familiarity with seeing men in less than full-dress. "I-I-I…"

"Hmm? What's this? Hinamori have you never seen Hitsugaya-taicho boxers?" At Hinamori's mortified expression, Matsumoto explained her train of thought. "I just figured you'd seen them since you guys were so close when you were younger."

"T-That's when we were…younger!" The thoroughly embarrassed brunette stuttered out.

"It's the same thing!" Matsumoto insisted as she pulled Hinamori closer to Histugaya's bed.

"No!" Struggling against the older woman's strong grasp, Hinamori covered her eyes with her free hand. "Matsumoto!"

As soon as Matsumoto released Hinamori, she scurried to the corner and hastily began to sort the decorations and put them up in a desperate hurry. Matsumoto chuckled at the Fifth Division lieutenant and walked over to her to hand her one of the thrown rolls of streamers.

"I was only teasing you Hinamori!"

"And you said _I'm_ a bully." Hinamori huffed before snatching the streamer away from Matsumoto and attaching it to the wall. Immediately after, Matsumoto leapt up onto the chair and almost pushed Hinamori off in the process. "What?"

"You're doing the colors wrong! It's blue on the bottom and _then_ white on top!"

"Eh? You're the one who was doing the banners wrong!"

"Colors and banners are different! You can change banners but the colours have to be _perfect_!"

The blonde continued to lecture Hinamori as she moved the furniture, since Hinamori was still not allowed to do any serious physical activity, and gave Hinamori instructions as to how to put up the streamers.

At first, Hinamori would never have guessed that Matsumoto was a perfectionist when it came to these kinds of things; she had slacked off on the work and seemed to like dumping the workload on others. Surprisingly enough, though, she had pulled through in the end, finished her share of the work and even fit in the time to instruct Hinamori on how to perfect the art of color coordination and design.

When they were sitting next to Hitsugaya's bed, a cup of tea in each of their hands, Hinamori had asked Matsumoto how she had managed to complete the paperwork, get the orders from the shops and make time for putting up the decorations when she had slacked off so much.

Matsumoto explained meekly that she had felt rather depressed for some reason, which she refused to elaborate on, but had her ways with getting work done.

Now Hinamori knew that she was a perfectionist in planning _and_ back-up planning; it amazed Hinamori how little she knew the people who she had spent time with on a day to day basis for many years. It seemed as though Aizen had given her something before he left, other than a scar.

She was possibly given the chance to realize things that her naivety and blind trust did not allow her to see.

**- -**

**A/N**: Sapphire of Autumn brought Hinamori's name to my attention. Momo means peach and Hina means small or lovely while Mori means forest so I decided to play off of those meanings, which is where I got the lampshade idea. Really her name is Small Forest of Peaches, Small Peach Forest, or something else of the like. Haha. Review, review, review, please!


	6. Chapter 6

**White Peaches**

**Chapter 6**

**- -**

"Good morning, Hinamori!"

"Nnh…?" Groggily, Hinamori rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and rolled over on her futon to glare at the intruder on her sleep. "Matsumoto…?"

Matsumoto cheerily threw open all the curtains in the room, causing beams of light to brightly illuminate the room. "Up, up, up! Today is Hitsugaya-taicho's birthday and we must collect ourselves and make sure we look pretty!"

Moaning in protest, Hinamori flopped back onto her pillow and draped an arm over her eyes. "What time is it?"

Matusmoto paused in her fiddling with Hinamori's drawers and crossed her arms in thought, a pair of panties hanging off one hand unknowingly. "I'd say about…hmm…three in the afternoon?"

"What?!" Hinamori sat up abruptly, ignoring the pang in her side as she did so. She eyed the white cloth fluttering around as Matsumoto shrugged in faux innocence before immediately jumping out of bed and leaping at her friend; seizing her stolen undergarments.

Matsumoto blinked in shock before rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. "Hehe…oops?"

Yawning widely, Hinamori made her way into the bathroom, only to spin on her heel and race back to the Tenth Division lieutenant. "_What_ time did you say it was?"

"Around three o'clock…?"

"Matsumoto," Hinamori whined accusingly, "why didn't you wake me up earlier?! We have three hours to get ready and make final preparations…!"

Watching her friend buzz about the room in a rushed frenzy, Matsumoto shrugged and seated herself on a chair in the corner. "You looked cozy?"

**- -**

"Cheers!"

Ceramic cups clunked together merrily and a mixture of sake, juice and water sloshed onto the drinkers as they rejoiced in a celebration that most of the partiers couldn't remember at the moment.

After a negative start in the morning, Matsumoto and Hinamori had rounded up the guests and brought in the reserved food and drinks from the stores Matusmoto had meticulously picked out to provide for the party.

"Happy birthday, again, Shirou-kun!"

Hinamori, one of the few sober ones—even though Renji had insisted that he wanted to simply relax and not party—, set her cup of juice down on the table next to Hitsugaya's bed and took a seat next to his immobile form. It was already late in the evening, yet the party seemed to have started only an hour or two ago.

"Oye, Mori-chan…!" Hinamori turned at her slurred name as Matsumoto leaned heavily against her chair. "Ukitake-taicho, Renji and Nagasawa-taicho are going to play shogi, want to join?" Hinamori shook her head to decline the offer. "Okay, well, Kira and I are going to just finish up this sake, want to join us?"

The bun-haired girl smiled happily but shook her head knowing that they would most likely not even make it through half of the leftovers before they collapsed against each other in a deep sleep.

Turning back to her slumbering childhood friend, Hinamori smiled at his pale face. "I haven't had much time to catch up with you, ne, Shirou-kun? Well, I'm doing a lot better since when I originally woke up—and it's only been a little over a month! Maybe that means you can wake up soon? We all really miss you, honest, even if Matusmoto won't-" At the tap on her shoulder, she paused in her mini-speech and turned around to see Matusmoto leaning on the back of her chair looking a little green in the face. "Matsu-?"

"I think…I think I'm going to be ill…"

Standing up in surprise and concern, Hinamori helped Matusmoto into the chair she had been using prior. "Oh my gosh! Matsumoto! I told you that you could get ill from drinking! It's called alcohol poisoning! Geez!" Hinamori rushed out of the room in search of a Fourth Division member and possibly a bucket or some rags.

Woozily, Matsumoto eyed Kira pouring himself another cup and groggily lifting his cup up in cheers to Hitsugaya again before taking a sip and slumping onto the floor in exhaustion.

Snorting disapprovingly, Matsumoto rested her head against her captain's leg. "Uhh…I hope puke doesn't taste as bad as I remember it being…"

"Matsu…moto…"

Annoyed at the crackly voice penetrating her thoughts, Matsumoto didn't bother raising her head from its current semi-comfortable position. "What?"

"You're…" The speaker cleared his throat roughly before continuing, "You're cutting off my circulation in my leg…"

Eyes wide and blinking, Matsumoto violently lifted her head up and stared at Hitsugaya's green, _open_ eyes. "T-Taicho…?"

The sounds of laughing, shouting, liquor guzzling, teasing and shogi pieces being moved stopped abruptly as silence cut into the room.

A chorus of "Hitsugaya-taicho?" echoed through the room in utter amazement and relief before Ukitake declared that he would go to get Unohana. When he quickly returned moments later with the Fourth Division captain, Ukitake took a spot next to Matsumoto's side.

"How are you feeling Hitsugaya-taicho?" Unohana asked as she gave him some water and did some minor on-the-spot tests.

His sharp, slightly arrogant response of "fine" calmed everyone in the room and brought a smile to Matsumoto's still-green face. Her smile, however, was quickly replaced by a scowl when he also commented on her ill expression.

"Nice to see you too, taicho." She stuck her tongue out and instantly regretted the motion when she almost gagged. Holding her stomach, Matsumoto reoccupied her seat next to his bed.

"Hn," was the only thing he said as Unohana continued to examine him.

"Matsumoto, I got the…" Hinamori rushed into the room and paused at the crowd around Hitsugaya's bed. "Is something…wrong?"

Grinning goofily—most likely due to his previous alcohol consumption—Renji gestured to the bed in front of him. "No, the opposite! Come look who's awake!"

Rushing to the bedside, bucket and rag long forgotten at the door, Hinamori gasped at the wide green eyes that looked up at her in unconcealed surprise.

"Shirou-kun! I'm so happy that-"

"You look healthy." Surprised that he interrupted her so suddenly, Hinamori could do nothing but nod slightly at his rude tone of voice. "May I ask you an important question, Hinamori?"

Unohana studied Hitsugaya's features with concern; he seemed to be stressed and slightly defensive—withdrawn, even. "Hitsugaya-taicho, I think that-"

Hitsugaya's eyes flashed in a dangerous warning. "Forgive me for disregarding your best interests, Unohana-taicho, but this is important." He turned back to Hinamori, his eyes dulling slightly. "Hinamori?"

"You can ask me…" Hinamori flinched slightly at the weakness of her own voice as it shrunk to a small, vulnerable size in the face of Hitsugaya's cold expression.

"Why…?"

Hinamori was completely stunned by the moisture that formed at the corner of Histugaya's eyes and the white colouring of his knuckles as he clutched his sheets in a death grip. "What do you mean Shi-?"

"Why did you stab me, Hinamori? Why?!"

Ukitake gasped in shock and swung around to look at Hinamori along with the rest of the room's occupants.

He glanced warily between the Tenth Division captain and the Fifth Division lieutenant. "Hinamori-fukutaicho…?"

"I-I-…I don't-"

Rushing to the panicking girl's side, Unohana placed a reassuring hand on Hinamori's back and steered her towards the door. "Hinamori I think it's best if we-"

"No! Hinamori! Tell me! Tell me what I did!"

Unohana spun around to face the crowd of shinigami that gaped at the scene in front of them as Hitsugaya made an attempt to get out of bed and approach Hinamori. "Ukitake! Restrain him!"

As the Fourth Division captain guided the stunned girl out of the room, she searched her mind for an appropriate sedative and test procedure that she could put into action as soon as possible while the desperate tone of Hitsugaya's confused and strangled screams echoed after her.

Unohana was pulled out of her web of analytical thoughts as Hinamori stopped and looked up at her; tears cascading down her cheeks.

"I-I…I don't remember…What if-? Is he…? I mean…" Unohana allowed Hinamori to search for her words and waited for the lieutenant to finish as she took a deep breath. "Unohana-taicho…I…I don't _remember_ hurting Shirou-kun, but-…but what if I…?"

Hinamori choked on her own desperate tears as Unohana rubbed her shoulder gently and used her powers over Hinamori's shoulder to calm the girl's frayed nerves and subconsciously lure her into sleep.

"Unohana…I," Hinamori paused as a yawn tore out of her mouth before she could stop it. "I'm sorry…I…so tired…" She blinked sleepily as Unohana swept her off the floor and deposited her onto a bed in one of the spare patient rooms.

"I'll figure out what's happening, Hinamori; the last thing I want is for your life to fall from under your feet, again."

**- -**

Hitsugaya awoke feeling unusally warm, but refused to open his eyes immediately; instead he scoped the area around him with his reiatsu.

"Taicho, it's just me here."

Green orbs met blue orbs through the dim lighting of the Care Unit room.

"Matsumoto? What am I-?" Hitsugaya stopped abruptly as Matsumoto rose from her seat across the room and angrily marched to Hitsugaya's bedside.

Hitsugaya knew his lieutenant very well. Matsumoto was very intelligent and skilled in fighting, although she was lazy, and her temper was not something to mess with—especially when she was drunk. Luckily, her temper only arose at crucial times, during extreme circumstances, or during the slight tantrums she had when she was overloaded with paperwork. And generally, when she posessed an expression such as that, she was pissed about paperwork—he expected thatm though.

He had expected anything and everthing from his lieutenant. Everything except that slap he received, that is.

His eyes swirled into a dark green as anger escaped him in the form of reiatsu. "What was that for?!"

"Are you calm?"

"Well not anymore!" Hitsugaya snapped cynically as Matsumoto pulled her chair closer to the bed.

"Good!" She plopped down into the chair heavily and glared at the white-haired young man. "Now, tell me what happened that day."

"What happened what day…?" At first, Hitsugaya had thought his lieutenant had lost her mind, but now the memory of the day before set in.

Why did she want to know about that day? She had been there. She had seen what had happened. He had overreacted with Hinamori the moment he had seen her and he had made her cry when she had only greeted him after being away from each other for so long.

Damnit! Why had he done that?!

"Taicho. Tell me what happened. What happened to make you—no. Why did you…why did you demand…that question…?"

Slowly, realization dawned on Hitsugaya. "_That_ day…?"

"Well what day did you think-?!" Matusmoto took a deep breath in an attempt to reign in her anger and impatience. "Taicho, please tell me. The only reason why I'm asking you this is because I know Unohana-taicho will ask you later, but it will be confidential information and chances are that I won't be told. Taicho, tell me why you yelled at Hinamori. Why did you make her cry? Why did you ask that?"

"I-I…I made her cry…"

All traces of anger scurried from Matsumoto's body to be replaced with panic as Hitsugaya's eyes dulled and he flinched back into his pillow. "Hitsugaya-taicho…?"

"H-Hinamori…I- I'm…Hinamori…why…?"

"T-Taicho…?" Panic grasped Matsumoto in such a furious clutch that she was unable to move her gaze from Hitsugaya's trembling form before she cried out for assistance. "U-Unohana …Unohana-taicho!"

Matsumoto rose from her seat, toppling the chair over in the process, as Hitsugaya's form started convlusing violently against the bed. "Taicho!"

The lieutenant of the Tenth Division had been present at times when her captain had been cut up, torn apart, burned, stabbed, punched, kicked, and mauled by over a hundred hollows and over two hundred shinigami, but never had she feared for him as greatly as she did now.

It wasn't really Matsumoto's fault, though.

She had been trained to be prepared for blood, grime, and death, not mental diseases, emotional defects, seizures, heart attacks or anything else of the like that did not generally slip into the gory category.

Unohana rushed into the room and immediately set to work, advising Matsumoto to stand back as three other Fourth Division members filtered into the room and gathered around the bed; either restraining Histugaya or aiding Unohana in calming his nerves and lulling him into sleep while analyzing his condition.

Hours later, a terribly shaken up Matusmoto was lead to the dark room in which Hinamori was supposed to be resting and was placed on the bed next to prone form of her friend.

The door slid shut and Matsumoto surrendered to her disturbed thoughts of the scene she had just witnessed—well, that was what she was planning to do.

"Ma-Matsumoto…?"

The Tenth Division lieutenant turned her head to look at the darkness that held the girl across from her captive.

"How's Shiro-kun…?"

Even though she couldn't see it, she could hear Hinamori's tears in her voice, feel it in her aura; she must have been crying since she was pulled out of Hitsugaya's room the night before. Poor thing.

"Matsumoto? Why aren't you answering me?"

'I'm scared Hinamori,' was what the blonde's mind screamed for her to say to the girl. To at least reassure the girl that it wasn't _that_ bad.

But it was.

Matusmoto wasn't scared; she was _terrified_. Her captain, the ice-cold prodigy, had been convulsing, crying, whimpering and whispering desperate pleas; nothing he would normally do and nothing she had ever seen before from someone she cared for and respected.

Matsumoto was pulled out of her thoughts as Hinamori's tears confirmed themselves. Her sobs echoed in the quiet, empty room pathetically.

A silent tear rolled down Matsumoto's pale cheek as her thoughts once again returned to her captain and her friend across from her.

The look of blatant fear, surprise, sadness, and confusion in Hinamori's eyes as Hitsugaya's eyes practically bled betrayal, fear, sadness and confusion of its own haunted Matsumoto's mind as she lay there; drowning in her own thoughts.

'_I'm sorry, Hinamori; I can't help you. I'm just as frightened, sad, and confused as you two…'_

**- -**

**A/N**: Review, review, review, please!


	7. Chapter 7

**White Peaches**

**Chapter 7**

**- -**

"Deep breath…Good… One more time…Very good. You may sit back now Hitsugaya-taicho."

Matsumoto watched from the doorway in concern as Hitsugaya glared moodily at the white expanse of wall before him. She watched as the Fourth Division third seat packed her bag and shuffled towards the door, bowing in front of Matsumoto briefly before slipping through and sliding the door shut.

Her attention was redirected as Hitsugaya sighed and settled his disgruntled gaze on her.

"W-What? What is it?"

He blinked slowly. Once. Twice. Then he shook his head, "Nothing."

Feeling slightly uncomfortable, Matsumoto hooked her right hand behind her left elbow and walked further into the room. She glanced at the tray of food next to his bed. "Aren't you going to eat anything, taicho?"

"No."

"Well, why not?"

"Don't feel like it."

Matsumoto shook her head in slight frustration and picked up the apple on the tray, biting into it and taking her stress out on its flesh.

"It's meant for eating, not harassing, Matsumoto."

"Shut up." He snorted lightly and turned his attention back to the wall. After a few moments of being ignored, Matsumoto put the apple aside. "What's so interesting about this wall?"

Hitsugaya jerked in slight surprise, but regained his airy composure before turning to glance at Matsumoto. "Nothing."

Not believing the white-haired young man, Matsumoto leaned next to Hitsugaya to gain his line of vision. She couldn't help but blink in surprise at what she discovered her captain to be staring at so intently.

"An 'M'? Aww, taicho! You like me that much?" Matsumoto teased, knowing very well that it was most likely someone's given name that triggered Hitsugaya's staring contest with the wall and not the M in her family name.

He looked at her skeptically before shaking his head and zoning out again.

"Taicho…"

He turned towards her slightly. "What?"

"Tell me wha-." A surprisingly heavy hand landed abruptly on Matsumoto's shoulder, causing her to shriek in fright. She looked up at her 'attacker'. "Unohana-taicho?" Matsumoto shrunk in the gaze that Unohana directed to her. It clearly read "don't you dare."

"Good morning, Hitsugaya-taicho!"

Slumping back into her chair, Matsumoto snorted at Unohana's abrupt change in mood. All the captains seemed to have a multitude of masks that they could pull onto their face at any given occasion.

She smiled ruefully; she really did miss that fox mask sometimes.

**- -**

"Hinamori-fukutaicho… Hinamori-fukutaicho. Hinamori-fukutaicho!"

Hinamori looked up at her captain in surprise and fright. "Y-Yes, Nagasawa-taicho?"

The Fifth Division captain furrowed his eyebrows in concern. "Are you alright, Hinamori-fukutaicho? You were zoning out again."

"Yes… Thank you Nagasawa-taicho." She shuffled the papers in front of her and scribbled a sidenote into the margin of the current page she had in front of her before placing it into the tray next to her. She paused as she reached for the next sheet of paper when Nagasawa spoke again.

"You could go get some fresh air if you'd like."

Hinamori shook her head in a decline to the generous offer and refocused her attention on the paperwork in front of her. Hitsugaya had woken up the night before and a multitude of wishy-washy emotions and problems had already snowballed into a stressful situation.

A few hours prior, Unohana had come over to the Fifth Division office to inform Hinamori of Hitsugaya's condition.

Apparently, Unohana had misjudged Hitsugaya's mental state and he was still quite shaken up. However, with a little rehabilitation treatment for the next week and a half, Hitsugaya should be able to return to his captain position at the top of the Tenth Division.

Hinamori sighed stressfully.

Unohana had advised her not to approach the Care Unit building for the next few days because Hitsugaya's mind hadn't completely grasped the fact that what he had stored in his memory was an illusion of his own making. At least that's what Unohana told her.

After a brief interrogation of Hitsugaya, Unohana had discovered that all that Hitsugaya remembered was the images of the 'stabbing'. And according to other information based on Hitsugaya's emotions—which Unohana refused to disclose to Hinamori,—the memory of that day that Hitsugaya has in his mind is an altered version of what really happened. Although Hinamori didn't understand the technical terms involved, she did understand that due to Hitsugaya's conflicting emotions and mental stress, his mind broke down and this video-like memory was produced.

Hinamori glanced up at her captain breifly; he was hard at work. Quickly, she lifted up the sheet of paper in front of her and glanced at the neat handwriting of Unohana.

On this never-to-be-disclosed-to-the-public paper was a play by play of what Hitsugaya had said he had seen in this memory of his.

It was really quite strange. He rememebered being stabbed outside, but he was found inside. He remembered being stabbed by Tobiume in the heart, but his wound was on his shoulder. Everything lined up to support Unohana's diagnosis of a subconsciously built memory, but Hinamori still felt guilty.

It was her who Hitsugaya had visualized had stabbed him and it was her who caused him the stress that caused him to visualize that memory. Whether or not it was directly her fault didn't matter; she still felt eternally guilty.

Hinamori stood up abruptly, sending a couple pens tumbling to the floor in her haste. "Nagasawa-taicho." The dark-haired man look up at her. "I think I will get some fresh air like you suggested."

He smiled knowingly. "Of course."

Hinamori rushed through the walkway towards the large white building in the distance. Her shinigami clothes whipped about her arms and feet wildly as she began to use Shunpo. Within seconds she was in the doorway and speeding through the inner hallways.

"H-Hinamori-fukutaicho? Wait! Wait a minute! You can't go in there!"

Ignoring the Fourth Divisions members' protests, Hinamori skid to a stop in front of Hitsugaya's door and carefully slid it open before slipping through and sliding it back closed. The sound of footsteps echoed behind her as Fourth Division members hurried to extract her from the room before any damage could be done; they had strict orders from Unohana.

Surprisingly enough for Hinamori, a normally polite and obedient shinigami, it didn't seem to matter at the moment. Turning to face the door, Hinamori grasped her outstretched left arm with her right hand. Muttering a quick verse or two, she used a few demon arts to bind the approachers and barracade the door.

She paused. There were no longer any shouts of protest, no scurrying feet and no auras penetrating through the door. It seemed as though she had enough energy and reiatsu to use the basic demon arts techniques now. Lucky. Very lucky. But she was also confident. Very confident.

"Hinamori. What are you doing?"

Or at least she had been.

"Sh-Sh-Shirou-kun… I… um… I mean… I…" She was at a loss for words as she gaped at him. There was just so much that was different.

His hair. It was greasy and unkept; nothing like the fluffy and neat white mane that he usually posessed. That scared her.

His body. He looked thin, sickly, and tired, not like the strong, sturdy young man he had become while she was in a coma. She had a secret she kept with Rukia; it was called a camera. Pictures of all the captains and vice-captains had been taken—whether that was with or without their knowing was unimportant—and Rukia had given her a large package of Hitsugaya's pictures. She was amazed at how he grew, and that partly scared her.

His mouth. The normally straight, stern line of his lips was turned down in a deep frown. She wished she was young again, that he was young again. She could have made his lips curl up in a smile in two seconds flat if they were back in that old house. But that was before, this was now. That scared her enough to cause goosebumps to rise on her arms.

His eyes, the windows to his soul. They weren't the same either, and that struck a cord deep within her heart. The normally cold green eyes would always hold some degree of warmth for her, no matter the circumstance. Now the cold eyes were colder, lighter, frostier, more defensive, more threatening, and more hateful. The little, if any, warmth in his eyes was also frosted over in an icy layer, which scared her into taking a small step away from him.

His aura and his soul. Hitsugaya's soul had been like a box made of ice. You could see inside, but only what he wanted you to see depending on the thickness of the ice on your side. He had a strong, solid appearance and a softer core.

Hinamori's side had always been the thinnest, whether he was aware of it or not didn't matter because she knew it was true and she could see it in the darkest of times. She could see him for more of who he was, than who he had to be. She could see the warmth in the core that was kept locked away by the coldness of the exterior.

She could. _Before_. Before, before, before. Everything was before. But this, this was now. The present, the current, the here.

And now… now the box seemed solid, inpenetrable, unreachable, unmeltable. It seemed hopeless. And that scared her more than anything else.

"I… Shirou-kun… I'm…" How could she say this? She was a lieutenant! She couldn't just say she was scared and stand there with all of her pride in tact. Especially not when Hitsugaya was here, like this. But she had to. It just… It just seemed like she had to be honest with him. "I'm scared…Shirou-kun…"

"You should be." Hinamori's eyes widened in shock, her pupils dilating in slight apprehension.

What did he mean by that? Was he going to hurt her? Get back at her for putting him through mental agony? But this was Hitsugaya. He would have killed for her, _been killed_ for her.

Oh wait. But that… ah. That was in the _before_ category as well, wasn't it?

Too many thoughts were racing through her head, she wasn't sure what to say, how to react. He seemed amused enough by her state of distress, though. As corrupted and strange as that may appear, the small light in his eyes soothed her nerves a little.

"You'll get in trouble if you stay here. I don't blame you for being scared. You're not usually the type to charge into things, are you Hinamori-fukutaicho?"

Hinamori's back straightened as she turned to face him, her eyes narrowing slightly and all signs of nervousness and fear vanished as her reiatsu sparked angrily. "Hinamori-_fukutaicho_?"

"I'm sorry, were you demoted?" No hint of humor crept into his face as they stood there staring at one another. He was being hostile towards her, he knew he was. It was on purpose. He knew that she usually shrunk away from hostility unless it was important, but she wasn't shrinking away now. What could be so important?

Hinamori lifted her chin defiantly, staring into the cold eyes that sent frightened shivers down her spine. "In your eyes it seems," was her smooth reply. She was proud of herself; she was on even playing level with him so far.

He snorted and turned away. She stood and waited. Was that it? No more? He just decided that he was bored with the conversation? No. That wasn't even a conversation.

"Shirou-kun-"

His voice startled her. The softness. The vulnerability. The _sadness_. "What happened to 'Shirou-chan'…?" He refused to look at her; his gaze fixated on the window pane next to his bed.

"Y-You…" Hinamori cleared her throat, she had to be serious here. "You've grown up."

"I was never a child."

"You used to be. When I was a child, you were too. We were children…together, once."

He snorted again, his body jerking with the motion. "Once."

The seconds ticked and Hitsugaya remained in his position, eyes locked on the reflection of Hinamori in the window. Hinamori stood by the door, her eyes locked on Hitsugaya's form on the Care Unit bed.

She felt an aura seep through the door. Someone was taking apart the barrier and she hadn't even done anything other than fight with him. Sort of…

Sucking in as much courage as she could muster at the moment, Hinamori strode forward on shakey legs. She met Hitsugaya's gaze when he turned to her in surprise and she ignored the suddenly defensive aura that ate away at her own as she approached the bed. Her confidence sky rocketed; she wasn't the only scared one.

"What are you-?"

She cut him off before she lost the freshly acquired bravery. "Shirou-kun." He looked up to her questioningly but she could see the slight hesitation at the back of his emerald orbs. If he was hesitating, he could do it for the two of them.

'_For you Shirou-kun, I won't hesitate anymore.'_

She engulfed him in a bone-crushing hug before he could protest, wrapping her aura around his slightly frazzled and weakened one.

Hitsugaya pulled his arms out of the hug, placing them on her shoulders roughly as she buried her face into his chest. "H-Hinamori!" Hitsugaya braced himself to shove her off but paused as he felt slight moisture through his robe. "Hina…Hinamori…?"

Hitsugaya looked down at the bun-haired girl as she attempted to hold back hot tears. This was Momo Hinamori. His best friend. His childhood friend. She had been his past, been a part of his present, and yet he was trying to keep her from his future. Why? This was the girl who he had trusted with his life, who he would've given his life for, who he would've taken a life for. Who he had taken a life for at least once before. Why was he doing this to himself? To her? To them as a whole?

His violent race of thoughts ended as he redirected his gaze to the door. Multiple auras of the Fourth Division members poured through the wooden barrier; they were almost inside now. He snapped his attention back to her as she shifted and got up, wiping her tears with the back of her sleeve.

"Hinamo-?"

"Shirou-kun…We were children together, ne?" He wasn't sure where this was going, but he nodded an affirmative. "We had fun and grew up together, right?" He nodded again. "We didn't grow up completely together, though. You've become a man while I was in a coma and I became a woman when I joined the Gotei 13 and you just entered the academy. But, do people ever stop growing up Shirou-kun? Mentally? Emotionally?" He paused, then shook his head; no.

She sniffled and hugged him again. This time, he draped an arm across her shoulders; the closest thing to a hug he'd offer at the moment. "Hinamori, I don't understand what-" She straightened again and Hitsugaya watched her curiously. His heart nearly leapt out of his chest and onto the floor at what she did next. "Hinamori!" She crawled onto the bed and was currently sitting on his legs, trying to pry open the window.

Heat crept into Hitsugaya's face as her body heat spread across his legs. He looked away from her and concentrated on the door; the auras were getting much stronger. He cleared his throat roughly in an attempt to beat down the blush coating his cheeks. "Hinamori, they are coming in." He heard the click of the window opening and cold air rushed through the gap.

He turned to her as her weight lifted off the bed. She was sitting on the window sill; one hand keeping open the window and the other reaching for his own hand.

He watched, fascinated at her apparent change in character as she grasped his hand without a hint of hesitance or fear.

"Shirou-kun, let's continue to grow up. Together this time, okay?"

She squeezed his cold hand in her own warm hand and before he could answer she had dropped off the sill, the window shutting with a thud and the lock closing with a click.

Hitsugaya wasn't sure how long he remained staring at the space she had occupied, but as the Fourth Division members burst through the door and rushed over to him, he still hadn't looked away.

"Hitsugaya-taicho, are you alright?"

"Why wouldn't I be…?" He answered distractedly, his thoughts lingering on the lieutenant who seemed to complete his emotional and mental healing in a matter of seconds.

He barely remembered the stabbing now. Had that really happened? Well obviously, he was in this room and in these itchy robes. But he was sure that it hadn't been her. Not Hinamori. Not his bed-wetter-Momo. She was too kind for that and, without a justified or personal motive, she would never attack.

"Well, taicho, that Tenth Division lieutenant came in and-"

All thoughts abruptly stopped as Hitsugaya whirled around and placed sharp, icy eyes upon the speaker. "'_That Tenth Division lieutenant_'? What do you mean by that?" He probably shouldn't be so harsh on the girl. I mean, she was obviously not a seated member of the division. But the way she said it…

"W-Well, I meant Hinamori. She wasn't supposed to be in here, taicho, and she could have done something to upset you or-"

"It's Hinamori-fukutaicho. And why would she do something like that?" His tone got colder with each nervous twitch and shiver that she made. "Does Hinamori-fukutaicho seem like a cruel person to you?"

"Well I think-"

"I didn't ask what you thought, I asked what she seemed like. Listen to what you're being asked."

"Hitsugaya-taicho." Unohana's slightly amused tone cut off any other comments Hitsugaya was preparing to make towards the girl. "I think that's enough. She'll never speak badly of Hinamori-fukutaicho again. Not that she ever should have in the first place. Ne, Haruhi-chan?"

The girl, Haruhi, shook her head in a negative and scurried towards the door, her fellow members following after her. When the door slid shut after many rushed apologies and pardons, Unohana's gaze turned serious.

"That was un-called for, Hitsugaya-taicho."

Hitsugaya bowed his head. It really was uncalled for and he hadn't reacted so childishly since his Rukongai days. "Please excuse my previous behavior, Unohana-taicho."

The healer's expression softened and she cleaned up the dishes on his side table. "You seem to be in a much lighter state of mind. I trust that Hinamori-fukutaicho didn't harass you as much as my division members assumed?"

**- -**

When Unohana left Hitsugaya's room, it was with dishes in hand and a releived glint in her eyes. She dropped the dishes off in the kitchen and received many surprised expressions at her entry. She supposed she should have pretended that she needed to come in for a check-up rather than to clean up the dishes; that wasn't exactly a captain's job.

She rounded the corner and entered her office, silently sitting behind her desk.

"Did it go as planned?"

The dark-haired woman looked at the blonde sitting across from her. "Better, Matsumoto-fukutaicho." They exchanged smiles and the Tenth Division lieutenant exited the room as silently as Unohana had entered.

Yes, that had gone much better than planned. Hinamori had come to see Hitsugaya sooner than expected and stayed for longer than expected.

Not only that, but the smile that finally reappeared on Hitsugaya's pale face was much wider than expected.

Unohana chuckled lightly and pulled out a pen. Healers have paperwork too, you know.

**- -**

**A/N**: Yay! A less-angsty chapter! Review, review, review, please!


	8. Chapter 8

**White Peaches**

**Chapter 8**

**- -**

As both Unohana and Matsumoto had expected, Hitsugaya's first day of rehabilitation—the day after Hinamori's abrupt visit—was a tremendous success. After Unohana had done a quick, routine check-up and had questioned Hitsugaya thoroughly she had declared that the estimated week and a half of rehab time was to be cut down to five days.

The rehabilitation was rather simple; Hitsugaya was to interact with people normally and stay in a normal setting with normal situations. Well, that _would_ be normal if the people in those normal settings were normal. Oh, and not to mention if Hinamori wasn't attached to his arm through the whole thing.

No really. She was.

The Fourth Division had been labeled quite a few things, ranging from compliments to insults: essential, amazing, weak, unnecessary, skilled, cowardly, useless, horrible, and even scary. Usually the Division to be labeled "strange" or "weird" was the Twelfth, Thirteenth or Eleventh Divisions, and not the healing Division.

Unohana's rehabilitation process for Hitsugaya, however, had most definitely changed the majority of Soul Society's occupants' minds.

Hitsugaya snorted as he heard another whispered comment of awe, fear, confusion and curiosity. It was the last day of Hitsugaya's rehabilitation 'treatment'—which he was sure was actually an inside joke between Unohana and Matsumoto—and Hinamori had been assigned the task of delivering invitations and reminders for the upcoming Soul Society New Years gathering in the courtyard for all members of the Gotei 13.

This little event was held every year on the night of New Years Eve and continued until late into the morning of New Years Day. The main idea was the celebration of the hollows destroyed, shinigami welcomed into Gotei 13, and the souls gathered into Soul Society as well as the remembrance of the shinigami who had been killed, souls that had been lost and hollows that had been created over the course of the year while making wishes and goals for the upcoming year and celebrating the time of limbo between the two years.

Most of the Division leaders, the captains, lieutenants and/or sometimes the third seat members, either forced their unwilling-to-go members into attending, or skillfully persuaded—also known as scamming—them into going through use of their brilliant and sharp minds or the intoxicating power of sake. Usually it was the sake method that worked, though.

The first year Hitsugaya joined the Gotei 13, he had been forced to attend. A few years later, when he had made it to lieutenant status, he had gone to the party because of a sense of duty. The year after that, he had attempted to skip out, but had been forced to attend by his captain. When Hitsugaya had become captain of the Tenth Division, he had forced his Division to attend as pay back for the past three years and would have possibly enjoyed it if Matsumoto hadn't tried to force sake down his throat. Luckily, for the past three years Hitsugaya had been able to stay away from the party; claiming that he wanted to finish the Division's paperwork for the New Year in order to give them all a fresh start. And, since paperwork is a particularly hated thing in his Division, there were not many complaints.

This year he was determined to keep up his streak of non-attendance. However, Hinamori was planning on gathering the captains and lieutenants, with Matsumoto's help, and organizing a theme for all them all to adopt for the party to make it more 'festive'. This generally meant that he would be asked to go and, although he could quite easily win an argument against Matsumoto, arguing with Hinamori—and _winning_—had always been a little difficult.

"They're…They're _tied_ together by the arms?!"

Hitsugaya closed his eyes in slight annoyance as he kept a calm rhythm with Hinamori's slightly rushed strides. It seemed as though many of the shinigami in the Gotei 13 didn't understand the concept of whispering nor the theories of Unohana's treatment. Then again, he didn't understand the latter either.

"Oh! Shirou-kun, there's Kira!"

"Uh-?" Before Hitsugaya could protest, he was abruptly pulled to his left and bumped into someone on his far left, nearly where his back had been before. He quickly regained his composure and yanked Hinamori back to his side before turning to the fallen female shinigami. "Sorry. Allow me to help you." He offered his hand to the girl, but she only stared up at him. He withdrew his hand and straightened himself, returning the stare that the girl was giving him. "Are you going to get up?"

His slightly rude tone seemed to snap her back to her senses as a red blush swept over her face and she jumped to her feet. "I'm sorry, taicho. I'll watch where I'm going next time, taicho. Please excuse me, taicho." She looked up from her apologetic bow and blinked up at the red string tying Hitsugaya's left arm to Hinamori's right arm. "Ah! And lieutenant!" She bowed again. "I'm sorry, please excuse me, it was my mistake, I-."

"It's okay, it was my fault," Hinamori bowed politely—only now having noticed the girl, "I'm sorry. What's your name? I don't remember seeing you around here…"

"Oh, um… My name is Midori Hayashi. I've just joined the Eighth Division under Shunsui Kyouraku-taicho."

Hinamori cocked her head to the side curiously, thinking of the Eighth Division captain and lieutenant. She turned to Hitsugaya and pointed to the bundle of notices in her hands. "Shirou-kun, have we delivered to the Nanao and Shunsui-taicho yet?"

Hitsugaya mentally winced at Hinamori's casual use of his nickname. He did it again when he caught a glance of the gawking look the girl in front of them adopted after hearing the nickname. "_We_ are not delivering anything. _You_ are delivering and _I'm_ being _forced_ to follow." He paused as he looked at her; still waiting patiently for the answer she knew would come. Grudgingly, he shook his head. "But no, you haven't delivered there yet."

The girl, Midori, looked back and forth between Hinamori, in a mix of awe and fascination, and Hitsugaya, with a look of curiosity and adoration, through large green eyes under a neat, trimmed, and styled veil of red hair. She snapped her gaze back to Hinamori when the brunette spoke.

"I'm Momo Hinamori-fukutaicho, lieutenant of the Fifth Division under Kaoru Nagasawa-taicho, and this is Toushirou Hitsugaya-taicho of the Tenth Division. Could you deliver this notice of the New Years celebration to Ise-fukutaicho and Kyouraku-taicho for me, please?"

Midori hesitantly took the papers from Hinamori's outstretched hands with slightly smaller, paler hands. "Yes…" Once she settled the papers against her chest, the girl settled for staring at Hitsugaya again—it may have been a tad less obvious if she wasn't almost a foot shorter than him and had to crane her neck up to look above his neck.

He was pretty sure she could see his eyebrow twitching in frustration at the attention she was giving him and he inconspicuously pulled the red string between Hinamori and himself. She seemed unaware of both the girl's blatant interest in Hitsugaya's face and the insistent tugging of the string attached to her wrist. Hitsugaya decided to take it upon himself to get the hell out of the situation.

Clearing his throat, he turned his back to Midori and turned to Hinamori. "We have more papers to deliver, Hinamori. Let's go. Goodbye Hayashi." He strode ahead of Hinamori, ignoring the swirling pressure in his chest as he realized that she also had to slightly tilt her head up to look at him.

Hinamori stumbled back a few steps as the red string tugged on her arm impatiently. "Oh, um… Bye Midori!" Turning around, Hinamori jogged to catch up with Hitsugaya's suddenly quick strides.

They walked in silence for the next ten minutes or so as Hinamori delivered the papers. After the fourth time Hitsugaya almost got pulled into some kind of structure or individual because of Hinamori's abrupt turns and swerves, he grabbed a hold of the string to stop her. She nearly dropped her cargo in the light layer of snow as she staggered backwards towards him.

When she regained her footing, she straightened her papers and turned to the white-haired man standing before her. She paused a moment before speaking. "What is it?" She was pretty sure her voice came out as more of a whisper of distraction than a question of concern as she looked at him. He really had turned into a man—not a _young_-man, but a _man_. He looked to be about eighteen or nineteen now, even more grown up than in the pictures Rukia had provided for her, in which he appeared to be about the same age as Ichigo. Now that his body was catching up with his mental healing, he seemed to keep looking more and more mature.

Hitsugaya glared at her. "You keep pulling me around. I'm not a puppy."

The image of a small, fluffy, white Scottish terrier puppy popped into Hinamori's mind at his comment. She covered her mouth with her hand in an attempt to discourage her giggles but it only seemed to enforce them. His scowl deepened and she couldn't tell if the pink on his cheeks was from the cold or from her laughter.

When she had finally tamed her laughter and straightened the papers that once again almost dropped out of her arms, she smiled up at him apologetically. "I'm sorry, Shirou-kun. I know you're not a puppy. I'll try to warn you before I turn, then?"

He snorted; his scowl still in place and the red fading on his cheeks. "Where to next?"

She pointed in the direction she was going to go before speaking. "We've gone to see Ukitake-taicho, Nemu, Yachiru, your Division, Hisagi, Midori delivered to Shunsui, Komamura-taicho, Renji, Unohana-taicho, Kira, I was going to deliver to Soifon-taicho now, and Yamamoto-dono already has the notice." They slowly made their way to the Second Division building as she spoke, carefully treading on the light layer of white beneath their sandaled feet, and fell into silence again when she was finished.

Hitsugaya watched the thin red string bounce in between them with their strides. It seemed so fragile and delicate, yet it was linking them together and didn't break when either one of them pulled on it—whether it was by accident or intentional. He absently wondered if the emotions and memories that tied them to each other as friends were like this string; so seemingly small and fragile, yet continuing to prove to be resilient.

His train of thought was interrupted as the string became slack and he nearly walked straight into Hinamori.

"Are you okay?" He looked up at her brown eyes that filled with concern for him.

He must've really been out of it. How long had they been walking for? "Yeah. Let's go inside."

He glanced at the string again as she knocked on the door in front of them.

Could someone just take something and cut them apart without a moment's notice, like they could do to this tiny red string?

**- -**

Hinamori sat on the examination table next to Hitsugaya. Her feet almost touched the floor if she stretched her toes but Hitsugaya's feet were nearly planted firmly on the smoky-white surface.

Her eyes narrowed in annoyance as she looked at their feet. "Geez, when will you stop growing Shirou-kun? You never seem to stop!"

"When will you stop insisting on using nicknames for me, Bed-wetter-Momo? You never seem to stop."

Her facial expression fell from annoyance to aloof as he mocked her and she stuck her tongue out at him before crossing her arms in defiance and looking away.

Hitsugaya was going to reciprocate when he heard the door slide open and turned to see Unohana slip through the gap. "Well?"

Once she had closed the door again, Unohana sat down on a chair in front of them and opened the folder in her hands. "Well, I have to change this image of you I have in this file; it's severely outdated compared to your face now."

Why did everyone in Soul Society have to find his growth so amazing?

"Well, what about this string thing?" He lifted Hinamori's right arm with his left and pointed to the dangling string with his right hand. "Is it done?"

When Hinamori took back her arm, Unohana stood up and placed her hand over the string. It unraveled from their arms and dropped into her hand neatly. "It's finished. It worked wonderfully, as well."

Hinamori reached out for the red string and rubbed the silky material between her palms. "What is it for, Unohana-taicho?" She handed the string back and looked up at the woman with the long braid.

"It ties things together…"

A thick, heavy silence fell over the room as Hitsugaya and Hinamori stared at Unohana in disbelief. She stared back at them and the staring contest went on for a minute or two before she closed the file and turned her back to them.

"…and it keeps you two together so that Hitsugaya's mind and soul can become reacquainted with your aura and soul as something other than a potential threat."

Hitsugaya watched as she returned to her desk in the corner of the room and put away his file. "I never saw Hinamori as a threat."

"Not consciously."

"Whose file is that?"

Hitsugaya followed Hinamori's outstretched arm and pointed finger to an incredibly large shinigami medical file.

Unohana lifted the giant thing as though it were lighter than a feather. "This?" When Hinamori nodded, she gingerly put it on the table—although it made a loud thudding sound and the desk seemed to sink slightly—and opened it. She pointed to the small picture on the first page. "It's Zaraki-taicho's."

The room echoed with a joined, "EH?!"

Later that evening, Hitsugaya was walking out in the courtyard enjoying the cool winter night air and the solitude he hadn't been granted for the past week. He paused about halfway across the way as Zaraki appeared a little ahead of him.

"What is it, Zaraki?"

The large man grinned maliciously. "You've been spending a lot of time with that bun-haired lieutenant, haven't ya' Toushirou?"

Hitsugaya smirked ever so slightly as he continued on his way, stopping as he passed the Eleventh Division captain. "Sort of like you spend a lot of time in the Fourth Division, ne, Zaraki?"

Deciding it was best to return to his quarters as soon as possible after that statement, Hitsugaya used shunpo to get to the rooftop twenty meters away from his previous position.

"Come back here you little runt!"

Maybe forty meters would be a better distance?

**- -**

In the darkest recesses of the morning, jade eyes gleamed through the shadows at the Fifth Division building.

A stern, suspicious voice echoed from behind the watcher. "What are you doing H-?"

"Shut up."

"Excuse me? Am I going to have to-?"

Before the questioner could react, his vision went black and his body slumped onto the cold tiles of the roof. The watcher glared down at the intruder and kicked their body off of the roof, grinning when it made a sickening thudding sound.

"I _told_ you to shut up, weakling."

Thin lips curled upwards again as they released a wad of saliva and swiftly spit on the crumpled body beneath them. The green orbs flicked their gaze away from the Eleventh Division member, Makizou Aramaki, and returned to the building in front of them. They quickly retreated from the rooftop as a light flickered on in one window and people became aware of the disturbance outside. A whisper was the only thing remaining of the dark shinigami and it traveled away on the wind before a single soul could hear it.

"Goodnight, Momo Hinamori."

**- -**

**A/N: ** In the description of the story, I commented that I was aiming to have this story go over 20 chapters, so now worries; White Peaches shouldn't be ending very soon. Review with your thoughts, opinions, comments and advice please.


	9. Chapter 9

**White Peaches**

**Chapter 9**

**- -**

It was barely even dawn when Unohana got up from her bed, immediately sensing that something was wrong.

Moments later, the front doors of the Fourth Division building were swung open and she met Nagasawa in the front lobby, a crumpled body resting in his arms.

Without a need for explanations, Unohana lead the way to one of the empty patient rooms and immediately analyzed the body. It was a male shinigami from the Eleventh Division. Makizou Aramaki.

"What happened, Nagasawa-taicho?"

Nagasawa pulled a hand over his face roughly. "No idea. I sensed something was aloof and couldn't sleep very well. Next thing I know, there's some kind of commotion outside and when I go to investigate I found him lying on the ground. Looks like he came off of the roof."

Unohana nodded, that would explain the broken leg, arm and rib, as well as the fractured collarbone.

"Do you think he was drunk and fell off, or someone pushed him, or he got in a fight…?"

"I can't tell at the moment. He doesn't appear to be intoxicated, and the bars aren't very close to your Division. He's in the Eleventh Division; I have no idea why he would be in front of your building…"

"Should I get Zaraki?"

"Please. Try not to let anything slip until you get here; let's keep this under wraps until we find out more. After you bring Zaraki-taicho here, please go inform Yamamoto-dono about what has happened."

Nagasawa nodded and headed to the door, pausing as he was half-way out. "Unohana…"

"Hm?" She continued to realign the broken bones and rubbed healing salve on the bruises, cuts, and areas above and around the fractures.

"Do you think this is serious?"

Unohana turned to the dark-haired man, smiling reassuringly. "It's nothing like what happened with Aizen. Don't lose any sleep over it." She returned to her work. "Please go fetch Zaraki-taicho, now."

"Yeah…"

The wooden door slid closed and Unohana continued to work in the dimly lit room, humming to herself quietly. Her hands worked quickly and nimbly as she healed and analyzed simultaneously.

There was reiatsu lingering on the body; female reiatsu that she couldn't recognize.

Hitsugaya's previous injury hadn't been properly explained nor investigated. Could this strange woman possibly have attacked Hitsugaya as well? If she did, and got away with it, she would have to be rather strong, but the reiatsu on the body in front of her indicated that the shinigami who was with Makizou had some strength, but not nearly enough to be a seated member in any division.

Unohana sighed as she placed the last bandage on the body just as Zaraki's tremendous spiritual pressure closed in on the building.

Too many things were occurring in Soul Society as of late.

**- -**

"Shirou-kun…"

"Hitsugaya-taicho!"

"Hitsugaya-kun."

"_Hitsugaya_-_taicho_!"

"Hitsugaya-kun!"

"**Hitsugaya-taicho**!"

"Shirou-kun! Stop arguing!"

"I'm not Shirou-kun; I'm Hitsugaya-taicho!"

Hinamori and Hitsugaya paused in their shouting match to glare at one another. Matsumoto took this time to fit in a large yawn and a few words of her own. "Hitsugaya-taicho, just ignore it and listen to her, please. This is getting tiring."

"Don't order me around, I'm your senior!" Hitsugaya whirled his fury towards her.

Matsumoto snorted, and waved her hand flippantly at him, brushing off his comment. "Hardly. You're a couple centuries too late to say that."

Hinamori interrupted before _another_ fight started and then they would have to spend _another_ fifteen minutes in the Fifth Division office. "Shirou-kun, will you please come to the New Years party?" She turned pleading eyes on him but he turned away.

"No! And I'm _not_ Shirou-kun!" Hitsugaya insisted, grinding his teeth together in an attempt to control his growing frustration with these two persistent women.

Matsumoto jumped up to Hinamori's side, clasping her hands together in a begging gesture. "Taicho!"

Hinamori followed suit and tried her best to look innocent—which wasn't really hard for her. "Shirou-kun!"

"**Please!**"

The joint pleading was just too much for Hitsugaya. With a defeated sigh he slumped onto the large red couch across from Hinamori's desk and rubbed the bridge of his nose with one hand in a half-hearted effort to push down his growing headache.

Taking this as a "yes", Hinamori squealed with joy and leapt onto the couch beside him. "Really, Shirou-kun? You'll come with us?"

He turned exhausted green eyes to the Fifth Division lieutenant.

It was _way_ too early in the morning for Hitsugaya to deal with the pressure these two ladies were putting on him. Actually, it was always too early for them to do it. It was just too much at anytime.

The happy glint that formed in her eyes after he had surrendered into the couch kept him from protesting further as she leaned towards him, anxiously awaiting his answer.

Heh. She really was leaning kind of… well, um… you could say… _close_.

Whipping his head away from hers, Hitsugaya closed his eyes in irritation before mumbling out a quick, "whatever" and rising up from the couch; retreating to the liquor cabinet next to Nagasawa's desk.

Matusmoto's taunting voice reached his ears as he opened the glass door. "Taicho, I thought you didn't drink."

Hitsugaya glared at her as he uncorked a bottle of scotch and grabbed a glass, pouring some of the thick liquid inside. He snorted as he lifted the glass to his lips. "I thought you '_ladies_' were grown up."

Before he could take a sip—which he didn't really want nor need to take but for some reason had a sudden great urge for any kind of distraction—Hinamori was by his side and snatching the glass away.

"I don't think Nagasawa will mind if I take one glass," he commented before reaching for the glass in her hands.

"No! I don't want Shirou-kun to drink alcohol."

Hitsugaya let out a frustrated mix of a sigh and a grunt before reaching for another glass and pouring himself some more. "Fine. Shirou-kun won't drink; Hitsugaya-taicho will." He felt like he was teaching a young child.

She snatched away that glass as well and handed the previous one to Matusmoto, who gladly cleaned up the glass for her.

"I don't want Shirou-kun or Hitsugaya-kun to drink."

One slender, white eyebrow cocked up in surprise at the anger that seeped into her chocolate brown eyes when he reached for a third glass. "_Toushirou_-_kun­ _will, then." He grinned triumphantly into his new glass as she seemed to hesitate to take it. She had rarely ever called him by his proper first name or heard it used, even during their Rukongai days it had always been 'Shirou-chan, Shirou-chan, Shirou-chan' and occasionally 'Hitsugaya-kun.'

Suddenly, Hinamori was mirroring his victorious smile. "If Shirou-kun drinks that, then I'll drink this." She gestured to the second cup he had poured that rested in her left hand.

To anyone besides Hitsugaya, this would probably be the most ridiculous threat they had ever heard, but Hitsugaya knew Hinamori did not particularly like liquor and had threatened her with the same line when she had entered the academy; warning her not to drink or do anything inappropriate or else he would as well. He was actually surprised she remembered the line.

He lowered the glass from his lips slightly, scowling at the woman in front of him. When he spoke, his voice was deep with annoyance. "Matsumoto."

His lieutenant turned to him once she was sure she had finished off every single drop of the ruby liquid. "Hn?"

He shoved the glass towards her and grunted at Hinamori. "Take the damn thing."

"My, my. Aren't you both so generous this fine morning?" Grinning like a Cheshire cat, Matsumoto took both Hinamori's and Hitsugaya's glasses.

Hitsugaya leveled a cold, accusing glare on Hinamori as Matsumoto sauntered away onto the couch.

Hinamori blinked up at Hitsugaya blankly.

Hitsugaya sighed in defeat again. Frustrated by the fact that he kept losing, he slammed a fist down onto Nagasawa's desk, cracking the leg closest to him in the process. "Damn it all!" He glared at her over his shoulder again before storming out the office.

When Matsumoto was sure that her captain had left the area, she put down her current glass and smirked up at Hinamori who was still looking at the door that Hitsugaya had exited.

"Hinamori," she waited for the bun-haired woman to turn towards her, "you have amazing powers. Teach me!"

Hinamori blinked at Matsumoto in surprise. "What?"

"You had Hitsugaya-taicho wrapped around your little finger!" To emphasize her point, Matusmoto swirled her pinky finger around in a circle and wiggled it in Hinamori's direction. "Teach me!"

"Teach you? My little finger? Shirou-kun? What?!"

Matsumoto nodded. "Teach me!"

"Teach you what? I don't know what I did. I only got him mad." Hinamori's eyes cast downwards as she plopped onto the couch beside the blonde.

"Bah! If he was mad it was because he knew he was under your control."

"Control? You make it sound like I'm doing it on purpose."

"Aren't you?"

Hinamori turned to Matusmoto, horrified. "No!"

"Eh? What?! You really aren't?!" When Hinamori shook her head, Matsumoto collapsed against the arm of the couch in disbelief. "Impossible!" Hinamori shook her head again and Matsumoto got up from the couch. "Hinamori, my friend, you have _a lot_ to learn about this fine world full of these fine men."

Hinamori followed Matsumoto with her eyes as she left the room. "Fine men…? What does that have to do with Shirou-kun?"

"I trust you all had fun?" Hinamori looked up to see her captain leaning against the liquor cabinet that she and the heads of the Tenth Division had been bickering next to previously.

"Ah! Sorry, taicho. I hope we didn't cause too much noise."

Nagasawa poured himself some of the scotch that Hitsugaya had attempted to drink and sat down behind his desk, shaking his head at the creaking sound it made when he placed the glass down. Hitsugaya was much stronger than he appeared.

Redirecting his thoughts to Hinamori, Nagasawa took a sip of the liquid. "You don't need to be so formal with me, Hinamori. Although I am your senior in rank at the moment, it's only because of the circumstances that our Division was in for the past year."

"You deserve the rank you have right now, Nagasawa-taicho. I am aware of the fact that you didn't challenge my lieutenant position previously because of your respect for me."

Nagasawa blushed slightly, clearing his throat nervously. "So you knew that, huh?"

Hinamori laughed at her slightly flustered captain as he began to complete the paperwork that was due at the end of the week. She watched as he meticulously read, re-read and filled out each form, report and signature-needing document that was in front of him.

All of the captains and lieutenants needed quite a bit of knowledge about the shinigami arts and the workings of the world to get to their position at the top. But there were many things that they didn't know about as well.

"Taicho, can I ask you a question?"

"Hm? Go right ahead."

Hesitantly, Hinamori tried to find the right words to ask her question with and decided to just repeat what she had been told earlier. "Do you think that the Gotei 13 has many 'fine men' in it?"

"WHAT?!"

A little less than an hour later, Hinamori was in the Fourth Division building being consoled by a seated member. Hinamori looked up in concern as Unohana entered the room, Nagasawa following behind her.

"Are you alright now, taicho? What happened?"

Unohana smiled reassuringly at Hinamori. "Nagasawa-taicho simply choked on his drink. He's perfectly fine now."

Nagasawa placed his face in his hands. "I can't believe I almost died because of scotch and an innocent question…"

"You almost died?! Ah! Sorry, taicho! Sorry, sorry, sorry!"

The Fifth Division captain waved a hand dismissively at Hinamori. "Nothing to be sorry about Hinamori, I was just surprised, that's all; that isn't the type of question I'm used to hearing."

Hinamori blushed in embarrassment and laughed sheepishly. "Matsumoto mentioned it to me before, so…"

Unohana chuckled lightheartedly. "The Fifth and Tenth Divisions seem to enjoy visiting me lately, ne?"

**- -**

Once Hitsugaya had left the Fifth Division building, he had run into a couple of the seated members in his Division. When they had informed him that they were going to the training barracks across the courtyard, he decided to try to take out some of his frustration by lending an extra hand to their training. They went through some basic routines and some slightly more complicated routines together and Hitsugaya explained to them about his connection and training with Hyourinmaru. As darkness began to fall over Soul Society, he ordered the shinigami of his Division to leave for the night; telling them that he was impressed by their improvement in their training and that they deserved the early finish to the day.

After cleaning both himself and Hyourinmaru up a bit, he headed towards the Tenth Division building. When he had let himself inside and had made his way to the Tenth Division office, Hitsugaya deposited himself behind his desk and pulled out some extra paperwork. It was due next month, but he wanted something to allow him to focus on.

Half way through the second sheet, Hitsugaya put down his pen and folded his hands beneath his forehead, tilting his head downwards as the frustration from the morning seeped back into him. "What is it now, Matsumoto?"

When she spoke, her voice was low and sullen. "Ne, taicho…" She paused, sighing as she rested her head back against the doorframe and folded her arms inside her sleeves. "How easy do you think it is to fall in love?"

Hitsugaya snorted, picking up his pen again. What was with women and their strange questions? "I don't know, Matsumoto, I don't trouble myself with useless things like that."

The room settled into silence as Matsumoto allowed her thoughts to tumble over each other and Hitsugaya focused on the rhythm of the scratching of his pen.

"But…" The white-haired captain straightened the papers before him and put them to the side before pulling out another bundle while his blonde lieutenant searched for the words she was trying to express. "Don't you have a general opinion of it?"

"As I said before: I don't trouble myself with useless things such as that."

Matsumoto made a sound of frustration as she pushed herself off the door and turned to face him. "But-"

Hitsugaya put his pen down roughly, steadying his gaze on her. "What do you want, Matsumoto?" Blue met green as their frustrated reiatsu clashed angrily in the strained silence that hung between them. "What's bothering you?"

Matsumoto sighed in defeat, her reiatsu retreating as she walked over to her desk and put her head down on the wooden surface. "Nothing."

"Then why are you acting so depressed? Go drink or something."

"I already did! I went with Kira and Renji, and it was so much fun and we sang and we danced and then Renji started a fight with the store keeper and then we got kicked out." She glared at the wall, obviously remembering whatever else had happened. "But…"

"What?"

"Are you sure you don't have an opinion about love?"

"What's with you and love?"

"I'm stuck in it."

"You can't be stuck in love, Matsumoto. That's ridiculous." Hitsugaya scoffed at the blonde.

Matsumoto shook her head and sighed, her breath ruffling the papers next to her. "Things like love can't be controlled."

"You sound so depressingly human."

"It's true, though."

Hitsugaya sighed and rubbed his temples lightly. "Why are we discussing this?"

"I don't know…" The blue-eyed lieutenant closed her eyes and Hitsugaya took it as an opportunity to continue his work. A few moments later, Matsumoto spoke again. "How easy do you think it is to fall in love?"

Hitsugaya answered without bothering to look up. "You're not going to let this go, are you?" When she didn't answer, he sighed in frustration—something he seemed to be doing a lot of as of late. "Why do you want to know?"

"I just want to know what you think."

They stared at each other for a few moments before Hitsugaya returned to his work in annoyance. "Go ask someone else."

"It's just a simple question, taicho."

Silence filled the room for a little bit until Matsumoto tossed one of her pens at her captain. He caught it swiftly and placed it on his desk before glaring at her. "What?!"

"How easy do you think it is to fall in love?"

"I don't know!" When Matsumoto aimed a stapler at Hitsugaya's head, he put his hands up in surrender and leaned back into his large chair, closing his eyes in contemplation. "Pretty easy, I suppose."

"What makes you say that?"

"Argh! I answered your question! Leave me alone already!"

"Have you ever been in love, Hitsugaya-taicho?"

Hitsugaya wrinkled his nose at the strong smell of sake that drifted off of her robes. "I don't know! Why are you asking me this?!"

She quirked an eyebrow up at him, then resettled her head onto her arms, closing her eyes and allowing her breathing to even out. "No reason. G'night, taicho." Hitsugaya continued to glare at the back of her head before tossing the pen she had thrown at him earlier back at her. "Ouch!"

He innocently returned to his paperwork. "Go sleep in your own quarters." Matsumoto pouted at Hitsugaya but got up anyways; she figured this was punishment for pestering him so much.

**- -**

**A/N:** Reviews, opinions, suggestion, CONSTRUCTIVE criticism and compliments are **always** welcomed. ;)


	10. Chapter 10

**White Peaches**

**Chapter 10**

**- -**

"Pink!"

"No! Blue!"

"I vote for pink as well."

"What about red?"

"I prefer green…"

"Can't we just have plain colours like black and white?"

"No way! This has to be festive!"

Nanao looked down at the clipboard in her hands. "So… Matsumoto and Yachiru vote for pink, Renji votes for red, Kiyone and Sentarou vote for blue, the green vote is from-"

Kiyone jumped up out of her seat, pointing at the male Thirteenth Division member. "Sentarou wants _light_ blue! _I_ want _dark_ blue."

The other Thirteenth Division third seat officer jumped out of his seat as well, leveling a glare at the younger Kotetsu sister. "Light blue is more festive than dark blue!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is _not_!"

"Is _too_!"

"Is not, is not, **is not**!"

"Is too, is too, **is too**!"

"Shut up, would you?!"

"Um…I think we should all calm down and come to a decision. New Years is in two days…"

Matsumoto nodded her head in agreement. "Hinamori is right; everyone just shut up and listen to Nanao."

Nanao re-adjusted her glasses and smiled appreciatively at Hinamori and Matsumoto. "The colour themes to choose from are as follows: pink, blue, green, red, or purple with either black or white. Can everyone just decide which they prefer so we could have a final vote…?"

Hisagi leaned back into his chair. "I don't see why we don't just stick with the black and white theme."

"It's too plain, we see that everyday." Matsumoto protested.

Yachiru jumped up onto the table. "Pink! Choose pink!"

Hinamori sighed; this was not working as planned. "Maybe we shouldn't have a theme then…?"

"Nonsense, your idea for a theme was great! We just need to decide what theme to use."

Nemu looked up from the desk tentatively. "Um… Maybe… Maybe we should have a theme with style, rather than colour…?"

The entire table fell into silence as the lieutenants gazed at the soft-spoken Twelfth Division lieutenant. Renji was the first to break the silence. "It makes sense."

A joint murmur of agreement floated through the room and Nanao recorded the changed idea. "Then what should the style or design be? Any suggestions?" Immediately, a huge commotion started up again.

Matsumoto decided to take matters into her own hands. "ONE AT A TIME!" The table fell into silence again before Matsumoto pointed at Choujirou Sasakibe, lieutenant of the First Division. "Let's go in order. You first, Sasakibe."

The man's golden eyes fixed themselves on Matsumoto before scanning the rest of the table in deep thought. "It should be something different than the usual shinigami uniform…"

The rest of the lieutenants nodded in agreement and the scratching of Nanao's pen was accompanied with Matsumoto's voice. "And you, Oumaeda?"

The Second Division lieutenant shrugged. "Something that isn't too tight, so that we can fit in the celebration feast."

Matsumoto turned to Kira and he also shrugged. "It doesn't really matter too much to me…"

"I think we should wear traditional kimonos. It would bring a lot of us some nice memories of the past, don't you think?"

Hinamori clasped her hands together and nodded in agreement with Isane. "And they should be bright and colourful since most of the other shinigami will wear their usual uniforms."

"No dressy stuff, though. We should be casual. Make a difference, ya' know?" Renji reclined into his chair, having said his part.

Tetsuzaemon Iba, the Seventh Division lieutenant, nodded in agreement. "We should be ourselves and not have to worry about the standards set for the tops of the Divisions."

Once Nanao had finished writing down the last three ideas, she re-read the paper and nodded. "So far, I agree. I'm fine with wearing a traditional kimono as long as it's a colour I like and it suits my tastes."

Hisagi shrugged and Matsumoto twirled a pen between her index and middle finger. "Hmm… I agree so far, as well… But maybe we should wear one colour per division or one colour per pair or group?"

Yachiru pouted. "Ken-chan wouldn't want to wear pink with me. Let's wear colours in groups and pairs. Bururun will wear pink with me, right?"

Matsumoto felt her eyebrow twitch in annoyance as she looked at the Eleventh Division's little pink terror. "What did you call me…?"

"Ne, Nanao! Me and Bururun will wear pink!"

"Drop the nickname already, would ya'?!"

"Bururun!"

"She has a point, Matsumoto."

"Shut up Renji!"

- -

Hinamori sighed in exhaustion as Kiyone and Sentarou finally stopped bickering and left the meeting room. She slumped down in her chair and rested her aching head on her arms.

A soft pat on her shoulder caused her to lift her head up and be met with Nanao's smiling face. "Most of them are almost like children, ne?" Hinamori smiled softly and nodded, pushing some papers aside to make room for the cups of tea Nanao had brought for them. "Matsumoto has to finish some paperwork for the day, so it's just you and me, for now."

Hinamori sipped the tea, wincing when it burned on the way down. "I thought I had had enough of planning after Shirou-kun's birthday."

Nanao laughed lightly, flipping through the papers on her clipboard before pulling one out and pointing to a few lines. "This is the theme we decided on. Take a look through that and I'll be right back."

Taking the papers, Hinamori nodded and quickly scanned the page before reading the lines Nanao had indicated. "Traditional kimonos… bright and colourful… casual appearance… coloured themes for pairs, groups or Divisions…"

Pulling out a paper of her own, Hinamori put down her cup and looked for a pen. Lifting up the papers scattered to her left, she found a single blue pen and immediately began scribbling side notes on her paper. She jumped slightly when Nanao's voice drifted to her over her right shoulder. "Hard at work, I see."

"Yeah… I had an idea as to where to get the kimonos…"

"Really? Let me see," Hinamori passed the paper to the Eighth Division lieutenant, who pushed her glasses farther up her nose and seated herself beside Hinamori. After reading the plans, Nanao raised an eyebrow in surprise. "That's right. I forgot that Rukia and Ichigo were coming here for New Years this year. You weren't awake for the last New Years, were you Hinamori?" Hinamori shook her head; no. "They stayed in the human world last year. Rukia said it was interesting but nothing like the large party we hold here. She wanted Ichigo to see it this year." Nanao sighed happily. "They're cute, ne?"

"Umm…"

The dark-haired woman broke out of her stupor and put the paper down. "Anyways, this is a good idea. I'll send a notice to Rukia about the kimonos right away, so we should begin to figure out who will be wearing the themes together…" Nanao looked down at Hinamori, who looked up at her intently, and grinned mischievously. "Matsumoto and I will take care of the colour themes since you came up with the entire idea. Leave the rest to us, okay?"

Hinamori nodded, smiling gratefully at Nanao and rose from her chair, stifling a yawn as she gathered her papers.

"Hinamori, you seem tired. Is something bothering you? Did something happen last night?"

The woman's question brought Hinamori memories of nearly killing her captain the night before and she quickly shook her head to disperse the thoughts. "No, nothing. Goodbye Nanao!"

Nanao blinked at the closed door in surprise. "It was just a question…"

**- -**

Matsumoto put down her pen and grinned happily at her pairings. Nanao reciprocated seconds later and they switched papers giddily.

"Amazing… We have almost the same pairings…!"

Nanao nodded, making marks on Matsumoto's paper with her pen. "They say great minds think alike." Grabbing another paper, Nanao recorded the pairings and groups that they had decided on. Matsumoto leaned over her shoulder to make sure she wasn't sneaking in any of the pairing she chose that Matsumoto didn't agree on. "That leaves Soifon-taicho, Nemu, Kurotsuchi-taicho, Shunsui-taicho, and myself."

"You and Shunsui-taicho should match me and Yachiru. Ne, Shunsui-taicho?"

The Eighth Division captain rolled over to face the two lieutenants from his position on the ground. "Yes, yes. Pink is a festive, happy colour that can be worn on any occasion."

Nanao wrinkled her nose in distaste. "You wear pink far too much. Besides, it isn't really my colour."

"Please, Nanao!" Matsumoto pouted, encircling Nanao in her pink scarf.

"No way."

Shunsui draped his pink haori over Nanao's head beside Matsumoto. "Ne, ne, Matsumoto: won't my Nanao-chan look so cute in a pink kimono?" A clipboard in the brunette man's face gave him the dark-haired woman's answer.

"Yes she will, and because you are her superior and it's a two to one vote, she will be wearing a pink kimono. Right, Shunsui-taicho's Nanao-chan?"

Nanao glared at the blonde from underneath the flowery material dangling off her head and arms as she reached for the clipboard/weapon she had flung at her captain. "Shut up."

**- -**

The next morning, Rukia and Ichigo paused on their walk to school as a hell butterfly fluttered onto the top of Ichigo's orange head.

"What does it want?" He asked the petite woman next to him as the butterfly settled itself onto her finger.

She turned to the substitute shinigami and grinned widely. "We're skipping school today, Ichigo."

He blinked down at her in surprise. "What?"

Ten minutes later, Rukia repeated the message to the Urahara shop owner.

"Eh? Kimono shopping?"

"Yes. An order directly from Soul Society."

The blonde grunted and looked down at the black cat lounging in his lap. "Will you go with them and make sure they don't waste all my money, Yoruichi?" Yoruichi yawned and stretched out her claws. "Oye; don't cut me."

"Blah, blah." The deep voice redirected it's inquisition to the two uniformed shinigami standing in the entryway. "What kind of kimonos do they want?"

"Traditional kimonos. They have a request for specific colours, though. And tailored sizes."

The cat snorted in a very non-cat-like manner and flicked its tail in annoyance. "Picky spoiled brats… Well? What are you waiting for? Kisuke, give them the money so I can get this over with and the stuck-ups in Soul Society won't complain."

Kisuke Urahara sighed and pulled out his wallet as a puff of smoke ignited beside him and the cat became a naked, dark-skinned woman.

Ichigo immediately whipped around. "Don't you have any modesty?!"

Yoruichi grinned devilishly at his back. "Aw, Ichigo! You still aren't used to seeing women naked?"

"Stop teasing him, Yoruichi." Kisuke scolded as he handed her the tattered leather wallet. "And don't go spending all my money, either."

She sighed, anxiously flipping through the notes inside the wallet. "Yes, yes. Spend as much as I see fit. Got'cha."

The front door of the shop slid shut and Urahara shook his head in disbelief. "She never changes…"

**- -**

Yoruichi clucked her tongue disapprovingly at the large kimono splayed out in front of them. "Komamaru hasn't lost any weight, eh?"

Rukia nodded in agreement. Although the size was enormous, the colour and design was incredibly striking. The backdrop of the kimono was plain cream but attractive designs were stitched into the fabric with golden thread. "I didn't know you had a good sense of fashion, Ichigo. I never would've been able to tell." She smirked at the orange haired teenager next to her as he searched through a colourful rack of kimonos in the shop they were in.

"Shut up." He turned towards the woman and glared at her. "How many is that now?"

Yoruichi sorted through the pile of kimonos next to her. "We have three cream and gold kimonos for Yamamoto-dono, Sasakibe, and Komamaru, one gold and black kimono for Soifon, three more kimonos—red and black—for Renji, Hisagi and Iba, and one white and silver kimono for Little Byakuya."

Ichigo directed skeptical eyes to the ex-shinigami. "Does he really let you call him, 'Little Byakuya'?"

"Of course. I'm his senior in life and in Flash Steps."

Rukia interrupted Ichigo as he was about to retort to Yoruichi's indifferent response. "How many other kimonos are we looking for?"

"Um…" Yoruichi glanced back at the pile before tilting her head to the side in thought and answering. "Seventeen. Oh! And two more for you two."

"Us two?" Ichigo turned to Rukia. "Why do we need kimonos?"

Rukia grinned sheepishly. "Um… Didn't I tell you, Ichigo? I already told your family and Inoue, Chad, and Ishida…"

"What? Tell me what?"

"We're going to Soul Society for the New Years celebration."

Yoruichi covered her ears as the entire shop seemed to shake with the force of the noise. "WHAT?!"

"Don't be so loud and rude," Rukia scolded as she pushed Ichigo aside and looked through the rack he was standing in front of, "We're going to wear red and white, by the way." When Ichigo didn't answer, she glanced over her shoulder at him. "What? Did you have plans for New Years?"

"No…"

Yoruichi kicked him in his behind sharply, sending him into a pile of traditional slippers in the corner. "Then stop glaring at her and go get some kimonos, Idiot!"

**- -**

**A/N: **In the Soul Society arc of the anime series, Yachiru nicknames Inoue "Bururun", meaning "Big-Booby" so I got her to call Matsumoto that as well for this chapter. P

Also: Special Thanks to Sapphire of Autumn AGAIN ) I replaced the word "rietsu" to the correct version "reiatsu" in all the previous chapters.


	11. Chapter 11

**White Peaches**

**Chapter 11**

**- -**

On the day of New Years Eve, Hitsugaya awoke to bright sunshine leaking through the gap between his curtains. He blinked sleepily at the window before rolling out of bed and opening the curtains completely, lighting up the previously dim room. "Huh? What's this?" Hitsugaya bent over the package lying on the chair in the corner of his room and read the note attached to the brown paper covering. "A kimono…?"

"Taicho!" The sickeningly cheerful shout that came from the other side of his door made Hitsugaya's outstretched hand twitch in annoyance before continuing on its journey to the package. "Oh, taicho! Are you awake, taicho? Taicho, taicho, taicho! Guess what day it is today, taicho? It's-!"

The door of Hitsugaya's room slid open and the packaged kimono slapped Matsumoto in the face, cutting off any further ranting.

"I just woke up; shut up already!"

**- -**

( Similarly, the rest of the Gotei 13's captains awoke to packaged kimonos and their lieutenants' explanations of the colour themes and the entrances they would be making with the other shinigami with the same colour themes… Of course that didn't go well either; especially with Soifon when Oumaeda forgot to knock and woke her up before she felt she needed to… )

- -

"What do you mean I have a 'colour theme'?" Hitsugaya asked for the third time that morning, as he sipped his tea distractedly and glared at the still un-opened brown-paper-wrapped package.

Matsumoto sighed, an icepack still held against the spot on her forehead where Hitsugaya had aimed the surprisingly heavy package. "Ouch…" Wincing, she shifted the ice pack in order to glare at her captain. "I _mean_… The lieutenants decided that instead of everyone wearing the same colour, we would wear the same style. So we came up with colour themes for separate groups of people. As I said before, I am wearing a pink and white kimono to match Yachiru. You are wearing a white and emerald kimono to match Hinamori."

The white-haired shinigami finished off his cup and set it aside, pulling out the day's paperwork. "Why am I going to this thing again…?"

"Because Hinamori and I asked you to and because deep down inside you know you want to come to this New Years party and show yourself off in the handsome kimono Ichigo and Rukia picked for you."

"Aah… I asked why I _am_ going, not why I should _not_ be going."

Lifting the ice away from her face, Matsumoto glared at her captain. "Just open the damn thing and look at it. You haven't even seen it yet; you have no idea what it looks like."

Hitsugaya rested his cheek against his closed fist as he placed his elbow on the table, never bothering to look up at Matsumoto as he finished one sheet of paperwork and moved onto a larger bundle of three pages. "Yes I do."

"How?"

He briefly flicked his gaze up to the blonde's face before returning to his paperwork. "You just told me it was white and green and was a traditional kimono."

Matsumoto slammed her palm down on the arm of the couch she was lying on. "See! You don't know anything else about it!"

"Yes I do."

"Fine. Then what is the main colour of the-?"

"White." Hitsugaya smirked at Matsumoto as she gaped at him in surprise. "I have _some_ fashion sense, you know. It's not hard to guess what would match well with me." He gestured flippantly to his hair and eyes before flicking his wrist back down to the work before him.

"Hn. Just open it, okay? And pick up Hinamori by six o'clock—sharp!"

"A-huh…"

Hitsugaya continued to ignore his lieutenant's disgruntled murmurs as his blue ink filled up the large document page before him.

"Geez… and I thought _I_ was incapable of communication in the morning…"

Without looking up, Hitsugaya continued onto the next page of work. "You _are_ incapable of communication in the morning, Matsumoto."

Matsumoto scowled at the white-haired captain and sniffed disapprovingly at his response. "Fine. I'm going to go bully Kira or something. Don't forget: Hinamori at six o'clock!"

The office door slid open soundlessly and, after the soft swish of Matsumoto's robes and scarf, slammed shut with a sharp bang. It didn't bother Hitsugaya too much; he was used to these types of situations in the mornings due to Matsumoto's low tolerance and high irritability in the mornings during winter. It was no wonder they tended to get into spats more often then not; Matsumoto was born for the fall and Hitsugaya was born for the winter. It just didn't work well.

Over the course of four hours, the smooth, even flow of sapphire liquid slowed to a thinner line, then a courser line, and finally a small trickle and unpredictable spatter of ink. When he finally struggled to the end of the third page of his work, Hitsugaya flicked the pen gently against the desk; increasing the force at the lack of response from the pen's ink cartridge.

"Damnit…"

Glowering at the messy writing caused by the pen, Hitsugaya reached for the cup of pens that he always placed on the far right of his desk. Once he had dragged it closer, he removed his gaze from the paper to find another blue pen.

"Where are all my pens?"

If anyone else were in the room, they would probably think Hitsugaya was absolutely insane. The cup was full of pens. But what they wouldn't know, although Matsumoto and Hinamori might, was that the pens that currently sat in the cup were a gift from Hinamori; ones that Hitsugaya preferred not to used unless it was for important documents, crucial situations in which there was absolutely no other pens in sight or he was in a rush—which wasn't often.

According to Hitsugaya, a pen running out was not a crucial situation, he had plenty of time to finish the documents—and there weren't even that many; he only had two left—and the document he was currently working on was in no means what he would consider "important".

"Where are all my pens?"

He wasn't completely sure why he repeated himself, but it just seemed necessary. It wasn't like he expected anyone to answer.

Finally surrendering to whatever annoying trick Matsumoto or another one of his subordinates was trying to pull, Hitsugaya pulled out a—to his grave disappointment and slight amusement—a sparkly green pen. Unohana would be pleased. She had a liking for the colour and this document was to be sent to her as a check-up on his Division's health.

The emerald ink began to leave its mark on the crisp white sheet of paper and Hitsugaya smoothly and efficiently finished the last two packages of paperwork. He placed the pen down with a soft click and leaned back into his chair, stretching his slightly aching back muscles.

Reaching to put aside the bundle of documents, Hitsugaya glanced at the attractive green ink that sparkled from the clean white top page.

"…_you are wearing a white and emerald kimono to match Hinamori."_

Hitsugaya glanced at the abandoned package Matsumoto had placed on the corner of his desk after it had been used as a weapon against her. Secretly, his fingers itched to open the package and see what the kimono looked like—he also pondered on whether or not Hinamori would be matching him identically, or just in colour. At the moment, he wondered if the colour scheme of the kimono was as appealing as the document was with the sparkling ink.

"Green on white…?"

"I never took you as the type to talk to yourself, Hitsugaya."

Hitsugaya turned to the unnoticed intruder, guessing correctly that it had to be a captain to get past his senses completely. "Ukitake-taicho."

"I trust you are going to the New Years celebration?" At Hitsugaya brief nod, Ukitake made his way to Hitsugaya's desk. His eyebrows raised in surprise at the unopened package. "You haven't even looked at it yet?"

The Tenth Division captain glanced at the package and snorted.

Ukitake clucked his tongue. "What a shame. Yours and Hinamori's are the most attractive. Beautiful pieces of work, they are."

Hitsugaya tilted an eyebrow questioningly. "You've seen them?"

Ukitake nodded enthusiastically, reached into his uniform and produced twelve snapshot photos. "Rukia took pictures, but only of one of each theme." He grinned giddily and tossed them onto the desk between Hitsugaya and himself. "These," he pointed to the fourth picture, "are what yours and Hinamori's look like. That is what Yamamoto-dono's, Sasakibe's, and Komamaru's is based on. Oh, and this is what mine and Byakuya's look like. And those over there are…"

Hitsugaya tuned Ukitake out, pulling the image the older captain had first pointed out closer to him. Ukitake had been wrong; the kimonos weren't beautiful pieces of work.

They were amazing pieces of work.

A silky-looking, pure white material was the base material of the outer layer of the kimono and had what appeared to be fruit trees and sakura petals embroidered on it in a silvery-coloured thread. Another design, bolder, brighter and more attractive then the silvery one, was sewn into the material with a shimmering emerald colour in the shape of large, ancient dragons. The sash, cuffs, outline and trim of the outer kimono were also in the same dark emerald colour. The picture was a little blurry, but his eyes were sharp and he could make out more than enough to satisfy his hungry eyes.

"Amazing…"

Ukitake smirked knowingly down at Hitsugaya's bent head as he admired the photo. As the Thirteenth Division captain had guessed, Hitsugaya had never worn anything other than the standard uniform to the celebrations he had actually attended. Ukitake walked around the large desk, picking up the package in the process, and leaned over Hitsugaya's shoulder.

"It looks even better when you see it with your own eyes." Hitsugaya looked up at Ukitake in slight surprise before his features slipped into more of an embarrassed scowl. "You want to see it now? Ne? Ne?"

"Shut up."

Ukitake handed the package to Hitsugaya and proceeded to leave the room. "I'll see you and Hinamori at the celebration then. Bye."

Hitsugaya weighed the package with one hand, then the other, and then both. He held it up to eye level and tilted it. It was lumpy. That usually meant whatever was inside was soft and silky because the material slid around unevenly inside the package.

He glanced at the clock in the room. It was only two forty-five and he was supposed to pick Hinamori up at six o'clock; there was no point in opening the package.

Hitsugaya snorted. He didn't even want to open the package, so what did it matter if there was a point?

Tossing the brown paper bundle onto the desk, Hitsugaya picked up his completed documents and deposited them in the container that they would be picked up from later on in the day. He turned around again, glancing at the package in the center of his desk.

Why was it leering at him like that?

"Stupid kimono…"

Why was he so tempted to open the damn thing? It was a kimono! Practically a dress! And he wanted to open it as quickly as possible. Why? It made no sense. He was a captain damnit and he **would** keep his pride as a captain by not opening that package!

**- -**

Ukitake paused on his walk, searching his mind quietly.

"Oh! The photos."

Turning on his heel, he headed back to the Tenth Division building at a brisk walk. He reached Hitsugaya's office in a little under five minutes and rapped on the door politely. When there was no reply, he knocked again.

"That's strange… I just left…"

Sliding the wooden door to the side, Ukitake paused before entering the large room. He made his way over to the two figures in the middle of the room.

"Matsumoto? Hitsugaya? Is everything alright?"

Matsumoto broke out of her staring contest with the young white-haired captain. "Uh… yeah. Sorry, I didn't hear you come in." She scratched the back of her head and chuckled lightly.

Ukitake glanced around the room, "I'm guessing this is your work, Hitsugaya?"

"I knew he'd open it eventually, but I didn't think he'd open it so violently." Matusmoto commented dryly, moving to the desk—the only thing that didn't seem to be a victim of Hitsugaya.

Ukitake nodded in agreement. "After seeing the pictures I thought he'd go easy on the package."

Hitsugaya glared at the older captain accusingly. "I'm still here."

"Oh, yes. Well it looks nice, just so you know. Anyways, have fun cleaning up. It's sure to keep you busy for another half hour or so."

The blonde across the room groaned, hanging her head in shame of her captain.

"Oh, there's some on the walls as well."

The door slid shut quietly as the Thirteenth Division captain made his escape from the scene of the crime. Matsumoto glared at the shredded pieces of brown paper that seemed to coat the entirety of the room, then at the kimono-clad shinigami in the room.

Grumbling, she picked up a broom from the far corner of the room. "I didn't think the wrapping was so big… I'm disappointed in your lack of self-control, taicho."

"Shut up."

**- -**

**A/N:** A short, slightly humorous chapter as a prelude to the New Years chapter. Hope you enjoyed!

P.S. I appreciate criticism and suggestions for story-line ideas… But when people start commenting on my writing style and telling me that it could be better and that they wouldn't do this and that but I am or that other fanfics they read are different… That's not cool with me, sorry. I write the way I write because I like it that way and that's the way my creative flow goes. If anyone reading my stories doesn't like that: stop reading. That's all I can say to you… Sorry for the little umm 'rant'?


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: **This is posted especially for the marking of the one month date of White Peaches' creation. And beware: it's a LONG chapter and it's only about the hour leading up to the party!

**White Peaches**

**Chapter 12**

**- -**

Hinamori straightened her emerald green obi, pulling it flush against her waist and hips, and readjusted the outer folds of her kimono. She had been incredibly giddy with excitement when she awoke to find her package, but Nagasawa had insisted that she not try it on until she was about to leave. Perhaps he simply wanted her to struggle; she hadn't worn a traditional kimono in decades.

She admired herself in the mirror before her; the silky white fabric brought more colour to her cheeks while the silvery outlines of petals and trees, as well as the emerald silhouettes of dragons, glistened beautifully in the setting sun. She turned slightly, smoothing out the folds again. The emerald obi, designs, and lining of the kimono emphasized her brown hair and eyes while the silver complimented the entirety of the kimono itself. Hinamori grinned, jumping up and down goofily before settling down again and smoothing out the wrinkles she had caused. Smiling again, she tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear, redirecting her gaze to her regular hairstyle—a bun. She had wanted to do something different but she had struggled with her kimono for too long and doing her hair would have taken at least another fifteen minutes.

Finally pulling herself away from the mirror, Hinamori spotted the silhouette of Hitsugaya's figure outside the sliding door of her quarters. He was shifting uncomfortably in his sandals and readjusting the sleeves and cuffs of his kimono, similar to what she was doing. She moved to get the door as he reached out and knocked on the wooden frame.

Hitsugaya looked down at her, startled as she opened the door the moment he removed his hand from it. She was wearing a kimono that mirrored his in every shape and form. The picture he had been shown had hinted that they were very similar, but in person they seemed identical. As she stepped out into the chilly night she seemed a little flushed—almost as though she had been rushing to do something.

"I'm early…" He said it as more of a passing comment than a sudden realization as he caught a glimpse of the clock inside the room that read five forty-five just before she slid the door closed again.

"I knew you'd be. It's okay." Hitsugaya lifted a white eyebrow skeptically; and how would she know this? She smiled innocently at him and he decided to let it slide, he gestured for them to begin walking instead.

The old-fashioned sandals they wore slapped against the wooden floor lightly, filling the silence between them as they back-tracked to the Eighth Division.

Wordlessly, they approached the office. As soon as they got within a ten meter radius of the door, they immediately heard angry shouts and objects being thrown—most likely at Shunsui. Hitsugaya amusedly reached for the door, pulling it open just as one of the 'weapons' flew out of the wooden opening and past his head; leaving Midori Hayashi to fall into his chest and arms. The entire scene quieted at the entrance of the rather surprised additions to the building.

Unmoving emerald eyes met embarrassed jade as Hitsugaya lifted an eyebrow expectantly at Midori and she scurried out of his arms to settle beside Nanao; a blush hot on her cheeks.

"Ah! Sorry Midori, Hitsugaya-taicho, Hinamori; I didn't mean for you all to get caught in the crossfire." Nanao apologized gently, a polar opposite to the angry way her sandaled foot grinded into her captain's skull.

"Sorry Midori-chan, Hitsugaya, Hinamori-chan. My little Nanao-chan got carried away again—Gaah!"

In a matter of seconds, Shunsui was comfortably sitting cross-legged on the tatami mats as he smoothed back his ruffled hair; ignoring the lump that was beginning to form where the large encyclopedia that Nanao allowed to join her foot had previously landed.

"Umm… Are you all ready to leave?" Hinamori inquired cautiously, not wanting to have any large objects thrown in her direction.

Rising from his previous position on the floor, Shunsui stretched his muscles and returned to a slouched, casual stature and nodded. "Shall we go?" He offered his arm to Nanao, which she sniffed at and dismissively stormed out the door. He laughed heartily and followed her outside. "Oh, little Nanao-chan! I said I was sorry!"

Hitsugaya turned to follow and was half way out the door before Hinamori spoke from behind him. "Are you coming with us Midori?" He turned to see the girl shake her head in a negative and retreat into a darkened back room of the office. For some reason, something about the way she looked at Hinamori rubbed Hitsugaya the wrong way. He barely even noticed when Hinamori tugged on his sleeve, already being out the door herself and wanting Hitsugaya to join her.

"Hinamori…" Said shinigami looked up at the white-haired captain curiously as they walked towards the Ninth Division. "Did Hayashi say anything to you?"

Hinamori's steps faltered and she looked up at him with wide eyes. "Midori…? No." She continued to gaze at him in confusion as they walked.

Maybe it had just been the lighting, then?

Hitsugaya returned to his thoughts, only snapping out of the daydreams and contemplations to catch a glimpse of Shunsui turning around the corner of the building they were walking parallel to. Just as he was about to go back to his contemplations, a soft whizzing sound caught Hitsugaya's attention and he turned wide eyes to its source.

"Hinamori!" Tugging the woman backwards, towards him, Hitsugaya pivoted to the right and landed with his back flush against the wall and a soft 'oof' escaping his lips as the hurtled object crashed into the wall where Hinamori's head had been earlier.

Mentally scolding both himself and Hinamori for not paying better attention to their surroundings, Hitsugaya allowed a soft sigh of relief to whisper across the air in front of him.

"Are you alright?" He inquired softly; placing a concerned hand against the unmoving lieutenant's face.

Arrogant laughter floated to Hitsugaya's ears. "Did I forget to say look out?" The laughter immediately ceased when the owner of the laughter found himself in the line of Hitsugaya's cold glare. "What are you looking at, brat? You and your girlfriend run along to the party and stop playing around us big guys."

A white eyebrow twitched delicately in annoyance. "'Brat'? What the hell did you call me?" A piece of the wall next to Hitsugaya's collarbone collapsed into itself; obviously from the pressure of whatever had been thrown earlier. "What the hell did you throw? And why the hell did you throw it?!"

Hitsugaya didn't bother to remain calm and collected as the familiarity in the back of his skull grasped his brain fully; the annoying prick in front of him was from his own Division and was treating him like an unseasoned rookie! Was he really that unrecognizable after he'd gone through a growth spurt and had a kimono slung onto him?

Allowing his reiatsu to flare menacingly, Hitsugaya narrowed already cold eyes into freezing icicles. "Do you realize who you're speaking to?"

Recognition of the captain in front of him crept into the shinigami's face as he visibly blanched and backed away slowly from the pair—muttering stumbled apologies and fearful pleas for forgiveness.

"Ne, Hitsugaya-taicho," another voice called tauntingly from around the corner of the building, "What are 'you and your girlfriend' doing back there anyways? Hurry it up. We're going to pick up Yachiru and Matsumoto now."

A thin coat of crimson blanketed Hitsugaya's cheeks and nose as he glared at the reference both his Division member and Renji used for Hinamori and himself. After muttering a few curses in the general direction of the fire-haired shinigami, Hitsugaya returned his focus to the equally red Hinamori as she buried her face into his shoulder.

"Are you alright?" He repeated for the second time.

The brunette raised her head from the soft fabric and placed shimmering eyes on Hitsugaya's face. "I think my hair-cloth got caught on something and ripped…" Unnoticed tears formed in the corners of her eyes as she returned her face to the crook of Hitsugaya's shoulder.

The captain furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and frustration; what could that little cloth get caught to? And it was just a piece of cloth, what was she getting so worked up about, anyways?

Oh.

Oooh.

_That's_ why.

"I'm sorry, Hinamori…" Hitsugaya started nervously, not bothering to continue because of a lack of suitable words.

The little turquoise cloth had been a gift from Aizen; a form of congratulations for her achievement of becoming a seated member in his Division. Hitsugaya could remember every detail of the day she had come bounding into his dorm room on the third day of summer in his second last year in the academy. She had been so happy. It was incredible that he remembered everything about the day and barely a single thing about her bothersome story of how 'great' Aizen had been. He blinked away the building frustration and focused his attention on her hair.

Gentle wisps of brown framed her face as her surprisingly long hair cascaded over her shoulders in slightly wavy bundles; most likely due to the hair's previous imprisonment in the tightly wound bun.

"You look beautiful without it, though."

Hitsugaya immediately snapped his jaw shut after the words had formed in open air and wide, surprised brown eyes met equally wide and more surprised emerald eyes. The recently dismissed colour on his cheeks returned in full force as Hitsugaya dragged his eyes to some point beyond his friend's head.

"Oye! I said hurry up! What are you two doing back there?!" Renji's voice boomed from somewhere in the distance and jostled Hitsugaya out of his embarrassment.

Letting go of Hinamori's face and waist—which he hadn't noticed he still had had a hold of—Hitsugaya whirled towards the direction of the Sixth Division lieutenant and snarled out a stiff, "We aren't doing anything you perverted brute!"

"I never said anything perverted, you just implied it you stuck-up brat!"

"What did you call me?!"

A soft hand made itself known on Hitsugaya's tensed arm. "Umm…" He looked down at Hinamori to find a soft pink blush dusted across her cheeks; most likely from the compliment earlier—although it could have been from the current exchange she had witnessed or the faded blush from earlier.

Huffing in annoyance, Hitsugaya glared down the hallway before returning his attention to Hinamori. "Let's go."

Taking hold of the hand that was curled into the fabric of his sleeve and placing it within his own larger hand, Hitsugaya lead Hinamori away from the damaged wall and down the pathway, only letting go when they were about to round the corner.

Hinamori beamed up at the captain before her, any grief held by the loss of the cloth was forgotten for the moment as she allowed his compliment to tumble about in her ears. He had rarely ever complimented her without some type of pressuring on her part—both in Rukongai and once he had entered the academy and the Gotei 13—and even then it wasn't exactly what one would call a compliment.

She watched as he folded his arms in the silken sleeves of his kimono, amazed by the sudden grace that seemed to envelope him as he approached the company of the others. The cool air of dignity that surrounded him seemed to falter slightly when he began arguing with Renji, but the grace never dropped from his careful strides or angered arm movements.

It amazed her how she never noticed before; he was like royalty. She quietly wondered how he hadn't been adopted into a noble family over the three years he had sped through the academy and the decade and a half afterwards.

He was truly amazing—like a king or an angel. Most likely an angel.

"Something bothering you, Hinamori?" The item of her contemplation asked delicately, reaching an arm out behind her to guide her back into a faster pace to keep up with the group. She nodded, making sure to tilt her head down and cover her blush at having been caught staring at him—if she had been caught at all—, and Hitsugaya returned to his position beside Renji a few steps ahead of her.

Yes; he was most definitely an angel of some sort.

**- -**

After Hitsugaya had met up with Hinamori by the Fifth Division, the two of them had collected Shunsui and Nanao from the Eighth Division, Renji, Hisagi, and Iba from the Ninth Division, Matusmoto and Yachiru from the Eleventh Division, and Kurotsuchi, Nemu, and a slightly disgruntled Oumaeda from the Twelfth Division. In this time span of thirty minutes, nothing particularly out of the ordinary happened besides the projectile thrown by the Tenth Division member and an incident where Renji got too worked up and reached to pull out his zanpakuto, only to grab his obi instead and ending in him nearly flashing a group of shinigami from the Seventh Division who were, unfortunately, passing by.

However, the current situation that the group of skilled shinigami encountered was very much out of the ordinary swing of things.

"Why are you wearing my obi?!"

"I wouldn't wear a woman's obi!"

"Why not? Not like it'd make a difference!"

"Um… Kiyone… I think you should just stick with the one in your package… I don't think it was packed as a mistake…"

"Shut up! I want that obi!"

"What?! Don't tell your elder to shut up! Apologize, Kiyone!"

"Sorry, but he has my obi!"

"I do not!"

"You do too!"

"Why does she want it anyways? It doesn't match her outfit."

"It does too!"

"Want to bet, kid?"

"Shut up!"

"Hey! I'm your higher-up!"

"Bururun! If you get too worked up your kimono might rip."

"Are you calling me fat, Pinky?!"

"I think she meant higher than your waist…"

"How come I don't match identically like Hitsugaya and Hinamori? Ne, Byakuya, wouldn't we look dashing if we matched?"

"Hn."

"Oh that reminds me! Hitsugaya, would you like some sweets?"

"What?!"

"Candy, candy, candy, candy!"

"No! Someone catch the vase she dropped!"

"I'm already holding a picture up!"

"Hinamori be careful of that jar!"

"Are those _ashes_?!"

"Aaah! Who's are those?!"

"Don't pass them to me!"

"Hitsugaya don't drop them!"

"I don't want them!"

"_Who's_ are they?!"

"Oh, just an old friend."

"Don't say it so casually!"

"Where's Yachiru?"

"Well, where's the candy?"

"Oh my lord! Where's Ukitake-taicho's hand?!"

"Ukitake-taicho! Now look what you've done!"

"Aah! I think she bit his hand off!"

"No, I'm alright! It's alright! I even saved one for you Hitsugaya. Oh, now it's gone."

"No, Yachiru! Don't bite Ukitake-taicho!"

"I bite Baldy all the time."

"Where does she get these nicknames?"

"WHY ARE WE ALL CRAMMED IN HERE?!"

The collage of shinigami that seemed to be plastered against the walls turned to a thoroughly irritated Nanao.

Originally, only Shunsui had entered the small room leading to Ukitake's quarters to try to untangle Kiyone from Sentarou and help refrain Isane from thoroughly disciplining her younger sibling while Kira looked on in slight amazement. Intrigued by the frazzled tone of her captain's voice, Nanao soon followed and was trailed closely by Yachiru due to curiosity. Eventually the room was crammed full of the eighteen shinigami as they avoided the fragile art pieces and ancient furniture that decorated the room. Byakuya, Ukitake and Yachiru seemed to be the only ones generally unaffected by the surroundings as they stood closer to the door of Ukitake's room and watched the mess of kimono-clad shinigami before them.

"Oh, if only Rukia were here. This would make a lovely picture with all the kimonos together. We'd have to blur some of your faces to keep your dignity, of course…"

A loud chorus of "Shut up!" was followed by the duet of Sentarou and Kiyone yelling "Don't speak to Ukitake-taicho that way!"

Looking at the room from where Ukitake, Yachiru and Byakuya were currently standing, if there weren't shinigami everywhere, there was a large sliding door in the wall opposite to the viewer that leads out into the outer parts of the Division's building. The door was flanked by two small tables, each adorned with a paper lamp and a delicately carved glass vase. In the two far corners of the room were two large, ancient vases sitting atop white marble pedestals. The other side of the room was a mirror image of the front view, right down to the tiny characters printed onto the paper lamps. Finally, to add to the character and draw from the colours in the room, a large oil painting sat on each of the four walls.

At the moment, however, Renji and Hisagi were cradling the precious glass vases as they attempted to balance the paper lamps on their sandals and slide them back onto the table without ripping the fragile material; not an easy task for the short-tempered Renji.

Standing next to the fiery red head were two rather unhappy blondes—Matsumoto on the left and Kira on the right—as they balanced a large oil painting of Seireitei across their silk-covered shoulders. Of course silk and smooth wood don't exactly hold very much friction and having two people of different heights doesn't help the situation at all…

Continuing on that side of the wall, Iba and Oumaeda courageously attempted to prevent the large blue vase in the corner from falling off its pedestal as Kiyone and Sentarou bickered bitterly around the white marble that they were supposed to have been steadying.

Unfortunately for Nanao, Shunsui had decided to assist her in balancing the large vase in the other corner of the front sector of the room that mysteriously fell towards her after Shunsui had joined her.

Less than a meter away Kurotsuchi was having no problem with the large painting over his head seeing as Nemu was doing most of the balancing and—out of fear for the girl's neck—Hinamori was helping to balance the other side.

Next to that trio, Hitsugaya was trying his best to stabilize a ceramic jar while keeping it as far away from himself as possible while Isane attempted to slip out of the mess of people and pull her sister away from the dangerously teetering vase above her.

In a larger room, like the Thirteenth Division office, this wouldn't have been a problem and none of the balancing, teetering, juggling, sliding or cursing would be taking place due to the room's size. However, this room only acted as something akin to a front foyer and normally the maximum amount of people within its walls at a time was three: Kiyone, Sentarou, and Ukitake.

"When are we going to get out of here?!"

Ukitake raised a dark eyebrow in thought, scratching his chin lightly as he approached Iba and Oumaeda struggling not to break the large vase in their corner. "I don't understand why you're all having so much trouble…" With a sigh, he shooed the two large shinigami away and carefully caught the vase before slipping it back up on the pedestal with a soft push.

"**EH**?!"

Ukitake blinked innocently. "They aren't _that_ breakable, right Shunsui?"

The dark haired captain laughed meekly as Nanao's suddenly dark gaze turned to him. "You knew they weren't fragile from the beginning, _taicho_?!"

"Um… We should all hurry to the party, ne?"

When Shunsui darted out from under the large vase, Nanao grunted at the sudden shift in weight and heaved the large piece of pottery onto its proper place before carefully adjusting her clothes and giving chase to the runaway captain.

With a collected sigh of frustration, one by one everyone slipped out of their crammed position and replaced their not-so-fragile object in its place until the remaining people were able to move freely without the constriction of another person next to them.

Eventually, only Hinamori, Hitsugaya, Ukitake, Byakuya, Yachiru, and Matsumoto were left in the room. The silence hung heavily over the shinigami as Matsumoto shifted uncomfortably and Hinamori cleared her throat nervously at the sight now presented to them.

Finding a small, pink-wearing shinigami attached to his shoulder rather annoying, Byakuya gestured to Ukitake with a subtle flick of his wrist. Ukitake gently withdrew a lollipop from his sleeve and placed it in Byakuya's waiting hand before the nobleman tossed it out of the room, sending Yachiru chasing after it.

"Amazing; she's like a puppy."

"A lovesick puppy for Byakuya!" Ukitake cooed jokingly, receiving a deadly glare in response.

Matsumoto readjusted her obi distractedly. "The streets look nice at this time… oh, and people with a bad sense of direction tend to get lost…"

Before the blonde had even finished the unsubtle hint, Byakuya's white kimono had fluttered out of the door as his expensive scarf twisted elegantly in the nonexistent wind.

The Tenth Division lieutenant pouted ruefully. "How come my scarf never does that?"

"It only works in the air of elegance, Matsumoto."

"What?! Are you insinuating something, taicho?!"

"I don't think he meant it in a bad way…"

Nonetheless, Matsumoto flicked her scarf out with her wrist, intending to hit Hitsugaya. The silky garment was flicked away carelessly, however, and she wrinkled her nose in disappointment before giving chase to her kimono partner.

After a few moments of silence, Ukitake moved to the eastern wall of the room and carefully readjusted a painting of the shinigami academy before turning back to the couple hovering near the door.

"You two look striking in those kimonos. I haven't seen you in one for years, Hinamori—and never for you Hitsugaya. The colours really suit you two."

Hinamori blushed at the compliment and gently fiddled with the outline of a fruit tree. "I like yours and Byakuya's; they compliment your features."

Ukitake smiled warmly at the earnest girl and smoothed out a wrinkle on the edge of his own kimono.

Similar to Hitsugaya and Hinamori's, Ukitake and Byakuya's kimonos were made of a plain white, silky material with designs embroidered into the fabric. Sparkling fans littered the surface of Ukitake's kimono in silver thread that matched the silver lining, cuffs and obi of the kimono. However, unlike Hinamori and Hitsugaya, The Thirteenth and Sixth Division captains' kimonos were different in design—Byakuya's kimono sported a multitude of sakura petals rather than fans—but the threading and colours were the same.

Taking this into consideration, Ukitake schooled his features to be as contemplative as possible. "It's strange, though…"

Hitsugaya looked up from the picture he was straightening with Hinamori. "What is strange?"

Blinking in faux surprise, Ukitake held his chin in mock thought. "Oh… nothing _really_… but…"

"But…?" Hinamori caught on this time, turning from the picture to face the long-haired man fully.

"Well, most of the kimonos have different designs and patterns, but the two of you, Shunsui and Nanao, Zaraki and Unohana, and Nagasawa and Soifon all match identically. It's almost as though the kimonos are made for couples." Ukitake turned, hiding the smile that he simply couldn't mask after seeing the inferno of red flare up on Hitsugaya's face and the startled expression in Hinamori's large eyes. "I wonder why they would think that, ne? Oh well, let's head off to the party!"

Swirling around in his own gleeful aura, the sickly man twirled out the door and into the cool night air.

Hinamori slid her eyes over to Hitsugaya shyly, only to find the back of his head as he turned on his heel and followed stiffly after Ukitake.

"Oye! Ukitake! Don't think I forgot that you tried to give me candy! I said I didn't like the junk!"

Standing alone in the room, Hinamori blinked up at the painting of Seireitei. "Me and Hitsugaya…? A couple…?"

The thought absolutely boggled her. Hitsugaya? Herself? A _couple_? Impossible. Simply impossible. They'd known each other too long. They were _friends_! Not romantically involved—they'd never even looked at each other that way. He'd always protected her but it wasn't in a possessive way, more like a concerned friend. That's exactly what they were: friends.

Good friends.

Well maybe best friends.

Actually, now that she thought about it, they seemed to be more than friends…

"…but nothing in a romantic sense!" The brunette assured herself, glaring at the oil painting in thought.

Rukia and Ichigo were pulling a not-so-funny joke. It was true that when a man and woman had matching kimonos it could be assumed they were family or a couple, and Hitsugaya certainly did not look like her brother or cousin in any way, so it was most likely made to assume that they were a couple.

"Hinamori, are you coming?" Hitsugaya's voice was curt and controlled as he clipped out the words. Had she been thinking out loud?

Snapping out of her stupor, Hinamori blinked up at the painting again before turning to face Hitsugaya's silhouette in the now dark doorway. How long had she been standing there thinking? How long had he been standing there watching?

She couldn't see his face, so she walked towards him. Just as the light slide up his features and began to give her a proper view of his face, he turned his back to her.

"The party is about to start."

She nodded and followed him outside, staying a few steps behind him.

As the cool air nipped at her cheeks, Hinamori sighed into the night. It wasn't _really_ that impossible… But her heart was still held captive by the curly haired traitor. Besides, it's not like Hitsugaya ever looked at woman in that light; he was simply too busy, too skilled, too heavenly.

The embodiment of the heavenly guardian was not meant to drop his standards to the broken fools of Soul Society, such as herself, and those broken fools were not supposed to try to jump to reach those standards and touch the heavenly being's heart.

A hand plopped gently onto her head and ruffled her bangs lightly. Hinamori gasped in surprise at the green eyes that dropped down into her vision.

"Don't think too much; it's unhealthy."

He removed his hand and continued on ahead of her. Smiling, Hinamori jogged to catch up to him, hooking her arm in his and pointing to the bright lights that shone ahead of them in the courtyard; her heavy thoughts having lifted from her conscience for now.

As the music from the party drifted to the pair, the Fifth Division lieutenant allowed her thoughts to return to their previous topic of concern. Now that she considered it… Soul Society wasn't exactly a place where people did what they were or weren't supposed to do, now was it?

**- -**


	13. Chapter 13

**White Peaches**

**Chapter 13**

**- -**

"Taicho?" Matsumoto tapped her captain on the shoulder with her left hand, balancing a rather large cup of sake with her right.

Irritation ground its way out of Hitsugaya's mouth in the form of a rough grunt. "What is it?"

"You don't seem to be having much fun, taicho," the blonde replied matter-of-factly.

"Yes, and?"

At the white-haired man's curt reply Matsumoto grinned happily and thrust the large cup towards him, sloshing some of the thick liquid over the edge and nearly onto his feet. "Sake?"

"It's only three hours into this thing and you're already pissed drunk…" Hitsugaya scoffed, waving the cup away and turning his back on the party to once again look over Soul Society. "Anyways, I'd rather look at this mess of a view than watch that mess of shinigami."

"Really? Is the view of Rukongai's first district really that horrible? I would think the seventy-ninth and eightieth would be the worst."

Hitsugaya spun around in half-concealed surprise to face the dark-kimono-clad man. "Nagasawa-taicho? Where'd Matsumoto go off to?"

"You don't really miss her, do you?" At Hitsugaya's annoyed snort Nagasawa joined the young captain on the banister he was leaning over, the bright lights from the courtyard caused the golden swirls and lines on his black kimono to sparkle with life as he smiled playfully at Hitsugaya. "Where'd Hinamori go off to?"

Green eyes slid over to meet sly brown eyes before locking in a death stare.

After a few minutes of thick silence, Nagasawa chuckled lightly and pushed off of the railing, turning to walk away. "I didn't mean anything by it; just curiosity."

Grumpily, Hitsugaya slouched down onto his arms, resting his chin in the nook his wrists made as they met on the top of the wooden railing. "Curiosity killed the cat."

"Satisfaction brought it back, ne?"

The white-haired captain blinked in surprise at the quick change of voice. "Shunsui? Now where did Nagasawa go?! Where did you come from?!" With a sigh of confused defeat, Hitsugaya once again slumped down onto his arms. "What do you want?"

Shunsui glided over to Hitsugaya's side, his pink haori fluttering behind him and blending into his matching kimono. "Nothing much, nothing much. I was just wondering where Hinamori was."

'_Nothing much, eh?_' Turning his head away from the much older captain, Hitsugaya rolled his eyes in disbelief. "No idea."

"Oh? You don't know?" What was that underlying tone that Hitsugaya sensed?

"No, I do not know."

"Are you sure?" Oh, wonderful. Just wonderful. Hitsugaya knew that tone of voice very well. He'd heard it a lot during his years in the Gotei 13.

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Aren't you supposed to know?" Something particularly annoying was about to be said. It just had to be. The chance of him avoiding it was most likely rather small…

"I don't think so, why would I?"

"You're her date, ne?" Really, he should've been expecting something like that from Shunsui.

It took Hitsugaya a few moments to collect his brain cells after they were blown to pieces by the man's statement. Slowly, Hitsugaya turned wide eyes to the brown-haired man.

"What's wrong Hitsugaya? You look like you saw a ghost or something."

"**Eh?!**"

Ukitake took a slight step back in surprise. "What? What is it? What's wrong? Do I look ill again? Tell me!" When his questions were greeted with silence, the Thirteenth Division captain decided to drop the topic. "Well, that's not the point, anyways. I came here to ask you a question: do you know where Hinamori is?"

"Why me?"

"Why you what, taicho?"

"Aah! Why are you here again?!"

Matsumoto blinked innocently and pointed to her suddenly even larger cup. "A refill, taicho."

Hitsugaya glared at the cup, then the woman, and then back at the cup. "It was full enough when you offered me some."

"Um…"

"Good evening Matusmoto, Hitsugaya."

"Yamamoto-dono! Um, good evening." Matsumoto bowed respectfully, handed Hitsugaya the drink, and left the two to talk. "I'm going to go find Hinamori, taicho!"

"Oh, shut up would you…?"

Deep, throaty laughter filtered through Hitsugaya's hearing as he glared at the horizon. "Is something bothering you, Hitsugaya?"

"No, Yamamoto-dono."

"That's good."

The captain of the Tenth Division and the General and captain of the First Division settled into a companionable—although slightly strained—silence as they looked over the entirety of Soul Society together.

"Hitsugaya…"

"Yes, Yamamoto-dono?"

"May I ask something of you, Hitsugaya?"

"Yes…" Hitsugaya grit his teeth in expectation, curling one hand into a fist within its silky sleeve. '_If he says "Where's Hinamori?" I swear I'll…_'

"Could you go find and accompany Hinamori?"

Well he didn't _exactly_ say it… "Eh? Me? Why?"

The old man looked thoroughly surprised at Hitsugaya's question. "Why?" When Hitsugaya nodded, Yamamoto's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Are you not her date?"

Hitsugaya groaned in frustration, rubbing his temples lightly with his free hand, using his index and middle fingers. He expected something like that from Matsumoto, Shunsui and even Ukitake. Hell, he even expected someone like Zaraki or Yachiru—possibly even Renji. But no, never would he have expected that from the General.

"Well? Aren't you?"

Hitsugaya turned his back to the expanse of land and slid to the ground, slumping over his bents knees as he leaned against the rails behind him. "I don't feel so good, Yamamoto-dono…"

"What? You sound like a child. Get up, boy. You're a shinigami."

"If the night's going to continue like this… I don't want to be."

The old man shook his head amusedly at the distressed young man below him. He had forgotten how enjoyable it was to watch young people suffer in the midst of their prolonged adolescence.

Yamamoto quirked an eyebrow in surprise, nudging Hitsugaya with his cane, "I didn't know you drink, Hitsugaya."

"Now I do."

**- -**

Hitsugaya was having a bad night.

No, scratch that.

Hitsugaya was having a horrible night.

"Ouch! Hinamori that hurts! Let go! You're causing a scene!" The Tenth Division captain hissed through his teeth, glaring at the woman dragging him by his ear. "Hey, I said that hurts!"

"I told you I didn't want you to drink anything! They're influencing you so we're leaving."

Hitsugaya let out a mix of a sigh and a slight yelp of pain as he was tugged over a ledge. How far was she planning on taking him? Well, really it was his fault. He _did_ drink and she _had_ told him not to. But since when was she the boss of him? He was captain, she was lieutenant. He didn't have to listen to anything she—

""Sit down over there!"

"Yes." As soon as Hitsugaya got settled onto the ground, the silence began to fold into itself and suffocate him.

Hinamori glared at Hitsugaya. Hitsugaya glared at the mainly-full cup of sake in his hand. Hinamori gestured to the cup. Hitsugaya continued to glare at the clay object. A small rock ricocheted off of Hitsugaya's head. Hitsugaya glared at the rock.

Ooh.

That was a bigger rock this time.

"Ouch! What do you want?!"

"You promised me that you wouldn't drink…"

Hitsugaya snorted, narrowing his eyes on the woman. "I didn't promise you anything."

"You swore to me that you wouldn't."

"I didn't do that either."

She was beside him before he could blink; her movement almost faster than Flash Steps. "Please, Shirou-kun. Promise me you won't drink again?"

"Hinamori," Hitsugaya sighed in frustration, restraining his muscles from allowing anything to twitch in annoyance, "I took… a single… **sip**!"

"That's still drinking."

"That's sipping."

"It's drinking!"

"Why are you arguing with me?!"

"Because you drank!"

"I sipped, woman! Sipped!"

After a brief staring contest, Hinamori growled in defeat and turned her back to her friend. "Uugh, forget it! Just don't do it again."

"What does it matter if I drink anyways? I'm over the damn drinking age already…"

Hitsugaya's angry question hung in the air as silence resettled around them. It was only then that he took in his surroundings.

They were on something that resembled a small cliff or hill, almost like the one Komamaru and Tousen used to visit. There was very little snow where they were situated and green patches of grass were sprouting out from under the white blanket that had previously smothered them.

"I'm…" Hitsugaya stopped scanning the area, and returned his analyzing eyes to Hinamori. "I'm just… just worried that's all."

One eyebrow became lost in the mass of white bangs on his forehead as the pair of lines rose up in surprise as Hitsugaya gazed at Hinamori's back. "You're worried… about me?"

His answer arrived a few minutes later in the form of a gasp and her sudden disappearance from his immediate vision as she dashed to the edge of the mound they were on.

"Look Shirou-kun! You can see the academy from here! Come look, Shirou-kun!"

Slightly put off that the conversation did not continue, Hitsugaya tossed the troublesome cup into the bushes next to him. "Why? It's just a building…" Despite his criticism, Hitsugaya rose to his feet and made his way next to her, gazing out into the distance with her. "Are you blind? I can't see it."

Her response was distracted as she gazed happily at the school that gave her so many memories. "If you can't see it, doesn't that make _you_ blind? It's over there." She pointed, stretching her arm out until she felt she could almost touch the front door.

"I don't know why you love it so much; I barely remember my time there."

The Fifth Division lieutenant laughed, turning her face up to the sky and closing her eyes as she allowed an amused smile to slide across her lips. "That's because you barely spent time there. You graduated earlier than anyone else, I think."

The captain stared at her for a few moments before allowing a replica of her smile to slip onto his own face as he turned his eyes up to the sky as well.

The moon was rather bright in this area—most likely due to the fact that lanterns weren't scattered everywhere to disrupt the light of the large orb.

Hitsugaya tilted his head back down to look at the girl standing next to him, once again. The moon seemed to focus its beam on her as she basked happily in the light—eyes closed, lips turned up in a smile; she truly looked happy.

A small gust of surprised air escaped Hitsugaya's lips as he turned away from her in slight shame. She was happy. After all that had happened, she was still happy in at least some small way, and he hadn't bothered to attempt to provide her that happiness.

Actually, he wasn't sure what made her happy at all, anymore.

Did the moon make her happy? Or was the sun better in her opinion?

Did she prefer spring, summer, winter or fall?

Did rain maker her happy? Or was snow more of her favourite?

Did she still like flowers? Did she still like those tiny white flowers? Did those make her happy?

"Hinamori…"

Said shinigami looked up at her friend as a breeze blew past and picked up the ends of her hair, swinging them about her face happily before giving them back to the will of gravity.

"Yes, Shirou-kun?"

Maybe that made her happy? That childhood nickname she held for him?

"Do you like calling me that? 'Shirou'?"

Hinamori turned her head completely to gaze at Hitsugaya in slight confusion. "Do I like calling Shirou-kun 'Shirou'?" She repeated, taking his silence as a confirmation of the question. "I guess I do. I've always called Shirou-kun 'Shirou' because that's who he is to me: 'Shirou'."

A white eyebrow twitching in slight annoyance. "What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

The brunette laughed heartily, settling herself back into her position next to the white-haired man. They remained that way for a few moments, lost in their own sea of thoughts and space of imagination, until one particular thought became annoyingly repetitive in one of their minds.

"What makes you happy?" Hitsugaya blurted out, much more abruptly than he had meant to.

"Pardon?"

Taking a deep, steadying breath, Hitsugaya repeated himself. "What makes you happy?"

"What makes me happy…?" Hinamori repeated, lifting a hand to her face in thought. "A lot of things, I guess."

Taking another deep breath, Hitsugaya pushed further into his thoughts and towards his desired goal. "Like what?"

"Oh, um… I love those little white flowers, do you remember them? And I still think puppies are adorable… A nice, snowy, winter day that isn't too cold always makes me smile. Oh! And also-"

"Hinamori."

The Fifth Division lieutenant jumped in surprise at being abruptly interrupted and looked up at Hitsugaya, who was suddenly facing the other way. "What is it Hitsugaya? Is something-?"

Knowing she'd begin to get frustrated from him always interrupting her, Hitsugaya tried to spit out the bothersome question as quickly as possible, causing him to stumble over the words in a very un-Hitsugaya-like manner. "Doimakeyouhappywellumierumidontmeanitina…well…um…?"

"…What…?"

Mentally stabbing himself repeatedly with Hyourinmaru and dousing himself into the stomach acid of a hollow, Hitsugaya took a final deep breath and took—what in his mind was—the plunge.

"D-Do…Do I make you happy, Hinamori?"

Time seemed to crawl and Hitsugaya began to fear that it would stop altogether. He held his breath as he turned to her and found her gazing at the lights of the party behind them in deep contemplation.

What if she said that no, he did not make her happy? What would he do? Would he care? What if she said yes, what would he do then? What would _she _do then?

Why was he asking himself so many questions about her?

"Hinamori, you don't have to answer me, you know."

"Shirou-kun…"

Her answer came to him then; short and simple, yet entirely too complicated and confusing for his genius mind to comprehend. Now he was no longer afraid of time stopping. He had experienced it and he now knew what it felt like to have time stop at a crucial moment.

Hitsugaya pulled away from Hinamori's side, turning to the mass of lights in the distance. He reached a hand out to the woman beside him and she took his arm carefully.

"Let's go back to the party now, Hinamori."

**- -**

Hitsugaya sat in his office, arms folded together in the space between his nose and his mouth while his elbows were set into the soft material of the armrests on his large chair.

The whispered sound of a sigh escaped his lips as he closed his eyes, mentally willing his headache away along with this strange pain throughout his body.

Perhaps it was from the alcohol?

No, no… he had only had a sip. It couldn't have affected him that badly.

He sighed again, relocating his right hand to his forehead—covering his eyes—while his left hand lay limp on the armrest.

Okay, so he knew what the pain was from—but that didn't mean he had to acknowledge the fact that he knew. Things went away when he ignored them… or was that when they continued to bother him…? Well either way, this ache wasn't leaving and either were his thoughts.

For the third time, the soft sound of a sigh flitted across the air in front of Hitsugaya as he returned to his original position, this time leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.

It kept replaying in his mind like a movie…

- -

"_Hinamori, you don't have to answer me, you know."_

"_Shirou-kun…"_

- -

Hitsugaya changed positions again, slumping down into the chair and rubbed his temples to try to dull the ache and the damn reoccurring memory. It wasn't working. He could clearly see and hear everything in his mind just as he had when he was there.

When she had uttered his name, he had turned more fully towards her. It was then that she had finally answered him. He had had to lean forward slightly to hear it properly…

- -

_He looked down at her in slight bewilderment as every brain cell in his head screamed at him to react and do something, **anything**._

_His body didn't seem to wish to cooperate, however, and he remained with his gaze fixed on her._

_She refused to open her eyes to look at him, so he closed his eyes as well._

- -

Time stopping had been much less frightening than he had imagined…

- -

_All sounds seemed to cease—as though everything had stilled itself to watch, hear, and feel what was happening on this little cliff._

_He also stood there, refusing to make a sound as he listened to his own breathing and sought out to find feeling in his suddenly numb body._

- -

…But never could he have imagined the sensation that echoed throughout his body in that instance. It had been the largest swell of emotion he had ever experienced and he had no idea why. They were flimsy words, yet they affected him so deeply. He had tried his best to hide his face—he was rather sure that she hadn't noticed a thing when they had left…

- -

_Hitsugaya pulled away from Hinamori's side, turning to the mass of lights in the distance. He reached a hand out to the woman beside him and she took his arm carefully._

"_Let's go back to the party now, Hinamori."_

- -

Hitsugaya sighed once again and rose from his seat in favor of pacing the length behind his desk.

It wasn't rejection—it couldn't have been, anyway; it wasn't like he had feelings for her that would be hurt by rejection—she had actually confirmed that he made her happy.

But then why did it bother him so much? Why couldn't he stop replaying the scene within the confines of his mind? Why did it hurt more than what he had heard and seen rejection hurt like?

- -

"_Of course, Shirou-kun; all my friends make me happy."_

- -

Ah yes. That was why.

But that was the thing he couldn't wrap his brain around.

She had clearly defined their friendship and her contentment with it, so why did it seem to hurt so badly? They were friends were they not? Did this mean he did not want to be friends with her? Did this mean he wanted to be more?

"I have to stop asking myself so many questions…"

"Yes, and you need to stop talking to yourself all together. Oh, and the sighing! Good lord; the sighing _has_ to stop." Matsumoto hid behind her stack of neglected paperwork as the icy green glare fixated itself on her. "But if you enjoy it you could always do it behind closed doors, taicho."

The Tenth Division captain snorted in annoyance and turned on his heel, marching out of the room.

After a few moments, Matsumoto emerged from her wall of paper and looked from the door, to the chair, to where her captain had been pacing.

"Another reason why I never want to become a captain…"

**- -**

**A/N:** Sorry for the HUGE extension of time before this chapter. Sadly… the next chapter may take even longer because now I'm being swamped with pre-tests and reviews and projects… -damn teachers who always stray from the curriculum then have to dump everything on us at the end…- But have no fear it should not take too long, my exams are a week and a half from now so I should be able to finish the next chapter in a little over a week and I might be able to grind out two chapter afterwards as thanks for putting up with the slowing update time. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, or at least it made you want to find out what happens next –evil laughter-


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